Serpentine
by Darkpurplelighter
Summary: After the death of Sirius and finding out about the prophecy, Harry starts to become shut off from everything and everyone else. But after a shocking revelation, slowly begins to find comfort with an unlikely new family.
1. Darkness

XXXXXX

"_I know how you feel, Harry." Dumbledore began._

"_No you don't." Harry responded as he stared at the floor on the headmaster's office. "It's my fault."_

"_No…the fault is mine. I knew it was only a matter of time before Voldemort made the connection between you. I thought that distancing myself from you as I've done all year, he'd be less tempted, and therefore you might be more protected."_

_Swallowing a knot in his throat, Harry looked up at Dumbledore and spoke again._

"_The prophecy said, neither one can live while the other survives. It means…one of us is going to have to kill the other…in the end."_

"_Yes."_

"_Why didn't you tell me?"_

"_For the same reason you tried to save Sirius. The same reason your friends saved you. After all these years, after all you've suffered, I didn't want to cause you anymore pain. I care too much about you…"_

Rolling over in bed, Harry opened his eyes as laid on his back and looked up at the ceiling as he remembered his last talk with Dumbledore before heading off to the Dursley's house for the summer.

For the past few days he'd been back Harry had just stayed in his room, laying in bed asleep. And for the first time in a long time, he wasn't having any nightmares, any dreams, nothing at all so he just slept. It surprised him, especially given what had just happened. He tried as hard as he could not to think about it, to push it out of his mind. But it was getting harder and harder each day, and being here at the Dursley house wasn't helping.

He was alone with none of his friends around.

But in the end Ron or Hermione being around would not have made any difference. He knew they cared, put they just didn't understand what it felt like to know that you were responsible for someone's death. They didn't understand the pain and guilt he felt, and the heavy responsibility that had been placed upon his shoulders.

Sighing heavily, Harry pushed himself up and swung his legs over the bed. He glanced at the clock on the small table next to his bed and it read five past twelve. Putting his glasses on, he got to his feet and decided to get a glass of water from the kitchen. Being mindful not to disturb his sleeping Aunt and Uncle, Harry slowly walked down the stairs, but just as his foot hit the first step on the way down, a voice echoed through his mind.

_"Nice work, James!"_

Harry shook his head as he took another step down.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

He then had to hold onto the rail tighter as he heard the sound of Bellatrix Lestrange shouting the killing curse at his godfather, watching helplessly as Sirius was struck, Sirius smiling at him one last time before fading away in the veil. Harry remembered running after her, step by step before finally catching up with Bellatrix and attempting to use the Cruciatus Curse.

He then heard Lord Voldemort's voice in his ear.

_"You have to mean it Harry…she killed him…she deserves it."_

_"You know the spell."_

Harry had spent hours trying to free his mind of all thought, of all emotion, as Professor Snape taught him to do in Occlumency lessons, even though he hated every single lesson he ever had. Whenever he was almost there another image of someone he cared about in pain or dying appeared in his mind. He then realized he had reached the bottom of the stairs and took a short deep breath as he walked to the kitchen. He poured water into a glass and after taking a sip of it, he rubbed his forehead and his fingers brushed over his scar.

_"Sirius!"_

_Sirius is dead, Sirius is dead, you killed him, you went to the Department of Mysteries, you made him come there, you killed him…it's all your fault..._

Harry was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the front door open and closed. A little startled, Harry glanced out the doorway to see it was only his cousin, Dudley.

"Potter," he snarled while walking towards the kitchen and moving past him.

"What were you doing out so late?" He asked.

"None of your business," Dudley snapped while grabbing some food out of the pantry. "And what are you still doing up? Another one of your stupid nightmares?" He asked as a grin pulled over his lips. He knew about his cousins nightmares from hearing him in his sleep in the past few years.

Harry glared at him.

"Shut up Dudley."

Harry was use to Dudley's taunts and insults but he just didn't have the energy to deal with his cousin right now. Fortunately for him Dudley took his snack and walked out of the kitchen, taking it up to his room.

After he finished the water, Harry set the glass down in the sink and went back upstairs. Sighing, he reached his room and sat back down on his bed. He then glanced out the window, wishing he was anywhere but here. Wishing that he wasn't in the predicament he was in.

He was still in shock…or denial. Maybe he still hadn't quite accepted it yet.

Harry then realized he was shaking. He shoved all the thoughts and feelings away, as hard as he possibly could. It was difficult, far too difficult, because they never went away entirely, they never left no matter how much he wanted them to.

Closing his eyes, he tried to imagine what life would have been like if none of this had happened.

_If Sirius hadn't died, if there'd never been a Prophecy, if Lord Voldemort had never come to power, if my parents hadn't been murdered, if I never had to come live with the Dursleys. I'd just be normal. I'd just have a normal life._

That was what Harry had ever wanted. Just to be normal. To not be known as "The Boy Who Lived."

Laying back down in bed, Harry closed his eyes as he tried to push the thoughts away, but it wasn't working this time. He just kept thinking about the Department of Mysteries, the Death Eaters attacking them, Sirius...

_You killed him, you led him to his death. He's gone now, forever, because of you. And all those people who the Death Eaters are killing, they're going to keep on dying, all the time that you're getting ready to fight Lord Voldemort, people are going to die. More people you care about are going to die..._

"Stop!" He then yelled, forgetting all about his sleeping relatives as squeezed his eyes shut. "Just stop."

XXXXXX

It was now morning and the sun had risen early, already halfway up the sky as it brightened the castle that was HogwartsSchool for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Severus Snape sat across from Albus Dumbledore in his office, discussing the latest Death Eater attack.

"It appears that the attack left several Aurors dead," Snape began, reluctant to inform the Headmaster of the news. "One of them was Alastor Moody."

Dumbledore sighed heavily after the potions master said that. Moody was arguably the most renowned Auror of all time. His death would be a tremendous blow to the Order.

"Because of their failure to obtain the prophecy, I believe the Dark Lord is going to increase his attacks," Snape continued. "Which means Potter must be taken to safer place for the rest of the summer, and I don't believe staying with the Weasleys will be safe enough."

"I know," Dumbledore said. "Harry needs a visible presence from the Order within reach at all times, to deter any attempts on his life. He needs to stay at a place where the Death Eaters wouldn't even think to look for him there."

"I agree," said a female voice. Dumbledore looked over as Narcissa Malfoy appeared from the shadows. "Don't look so surprised Albus," she laughed as she walked closer to them.

"What is she doing here?" Dumbledore asked Snape.

Snape stared at the desk.

"Mrs. Malfoy insisted she accompany me to visit you."

"And why is that?"

"I want to help." Narcissa began. "I'll take Harry in for you, and keep him safe from any attempts on his life."

Dumbledore looked back at Narcissa and shook his head.

"I'm afraid what you are asking is out of the question," he stated calmly, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest. He wasn't about to turn over the boy who lived to the wife of a Death Eater even if Lucius was locked away.

Narcissa smiled coolly.

"You really don't have any say in the matter Albus. Blood traitor or not, Sirius Black was Harry Potter's godfather, his legal guardian. I am his next of kin by blood. Therefore, as the eldest of the remaining Black family, I inherit the Black Manor, all relating properties, the family fortune…and Harry Potter. I am now the boy's legal guardian."

"His muggle relatives—"

"Will be more than happy to sign over any legal rights and obligations they have towards him. Severus told me they've never been too happy to have a wizard in the family."

Dumbledore glanced at Snape and sighed heavily.

"Narcissa-"

"You don't have anyplace else for Harry to go, Albus. Any other place you send him to, the Death Eaters will find it, I guarantee you. They would never think that he is being kept at the Malfoy Manor, which means that nobody outside this room can know. No one from the Order, they be can't tortured into revealing Harry's whereabouts if they don't know."

Dumbledore studied the woman in front of him for a long moment. She met his gaze fearlessly with her head held high, challenge in every line of her posture. Finally, he spoke.

"What about your son?"

Her eyes narrowed.

"I'm well aware that Harry and my son have never gotten along very well."

Snape snorted. That was an understatement.

"But, they are both sixteen now. It's time they made amends and began focusing on the real danger they both are facing. As for Lucius, he is in Azkaban. The bonds he laid upon me are gone, I have no desire to return to them."

Dumbledore was still not sold on this idea.

"The Order-"

"Albus, I will not betray Harry to the Dark Lord," Narcissa assured. "I would have nothing to gain from it, and doing so would put myself and my son into danger, and I would never do such a thing. So, are you going to play nice or not? I can do this with or without you."

Looking down at his desk, the older wizard finally gave in.

"Only on one condition," Dumbledore began. "Either myself or Severus is to make routine visits to the Manor, just to make sure things are going alright."

"Deal."

"Fine," he said while standing up. "I will accompany you to collect Harry, just to make sure he understands the situation."


	2. Guarded

XXXXXX

Back at the Dursley's house, Harry had woken up about twenty minutes ago and was still sitting on his bed with his back against the wall. He was wondering if he should get up and leave the house today, maybe walk to the park. It might do him some good to let the sun hit his face, even if it was just for a few minutes.

_"Hoot!"_

Harry glanced over at Hedwig's cage. She was looking at him as if she could feel what her owner was going through.

'I'm okay, Hedwig,' he muttered. Harry got up and made the short walk to the cage and opened it up. He began idly stroking her feathers as she rubbed her feathered head against his hand.

He smiled at the owl, not a genuinely happy smile, but the smile of one who is determined to make himself happy.

"Here," Harry said as he put some fresh food and water in the cage before shutting it and sitting back down on the bed.

As he rubbed his head, he looked back over and saw that Hedwig had not touched the food or water he just put it, just continued watching him with eyes that seemed worried.

Taking a deep breath, Harry forced himself back up and he changed his clothes. He decided to go for that walk after all. It was still pretty early in the morning and he hoped that Dudley and his Aunt and Uncle were all still asleep so he could avoid seeing them.

After exiting his room, he walked down the stairs as quickly and quietly as he could. He reached the bottom of the stairs as was about to walk past the living room only to stop in his tracks in surprise when he saw a very familiar person sitting on the couch.

"Professor Dumbledore? What are you doing here?"

Dumbledore smiled as he looked at the younger teen.

"Sit down Harry." The old wizard began. "How are you feeling?"

Harry walked into the living room and sat down across from him.

"Um, all right, I suppose, sir," Harry murmured, avoiding Dumbledore's eyes. He hadn't had any contact with the headmaster since they talked about Sirius' death in his office.

"Good, good." Dumbledore said which shook away Harry's thinking back towards their last conversation. He fell silent for a few minutes, and it struck Harry that the old wizard seemed uneasy as well.

"Sir what is it? Why are you here? Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine, Harry." He assured. "I've come to tell you that you are going to be staying somewhere else for the remainder of the summer."

Harry nodded.

"Where?" He figured that he was going to stay with the Weasley's at the Burrow like he usually did, or maybe at the Order's headquarters.

Dumbledore sighed. He figured it would be easier just to get it all out at once. There was no point in dancing around it.

"With Narcissa Malfoy at the Malfoy Manor."

Harry's eyes lingered on Dumbledore for a few moments. At first he thought it was an attempt at a joke, but he could tell by the look on his professor's face he was serious.

"What? At the _Malfoy_ Manor?"

"Yes."

"Why can't I just stay at headquarters? Or with the Weasley's?" Harry asked while getting to his feet. "Or anywhere else for that matter?"

"Because we feel that anywhere else will not be safe enough. Malfoy Manor will be the one place Voldemort and his Death Eaters will not think to look for you there. And only Professor Snape and myself will know where you are. We will check on you from time to time to make sure everything is alright."

"I'm not going." Harry said while shaking his head. "I'm not going."

"Harry trust me, this is for your own good. With the increased attacks from Voldemort we can not risk something happening to you. You're too important."

"So living with the wife of a Death Eater is the safest place?"

Dumbledore looked down and sighed.

"Harry, there's more to the reason you're staying with Mrs. Malfoy then I'm telling you. But I feel that it's her place to tell you, not mine."

Harry's brows furrowed at that and Dumbledore frowned, knowing that the young teenager didn't like this bit.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I know this is very hard for you. But it isn't the end of the world. Mrs. Malfoy is not going to mistreat you…despite what you may think from your encounters with Lucius, I think you'll find that she is very different from her husband."

Dumbledore sounded very sure. Harry could only hope he was right. It really sounded like he had no choice…something that he was use to be now.

"Can I still write to Ron and Hermione?"

"Yes. Just don't tell them where you're staying."

Harry took a deep breath. He didn't like but what could he do? Run away? Lock himself in his bedroom? All he could do was hope that Dumbledore knew what he was doing.

"Fine...I'll...I'll go with her."

"Thank you."

"Um, what time is Mrs. Malfoy," the name stuck in his throat. "—coming to get me?"

"She will be arriving soon." He then looked up at the ceiling when he began to hear moving around from upstairs. "Why don't you go get packed. I will explain everything to your aunt and uncle."

Harry slowly climbed the stairs and went back to his room to start packing. He really didn't have much to pack, all his clothes were still in his trunk. He packed as slowly as he could as he thought about the whole situation in his head…the Malfoy Manor. Narcissa Malfoy coming to get him…why? What reason would she take him in?

After he placed his wand in his pocket, he began to hear voices from downstairs. Dumbledore, his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia.

"Are you serious?" Petunia asked.

"We thought we'd be stuck with him for another year or so." Vernon said.

After a few minutes, he grabbed Hedwig's cage and began pulling his trunk out of his room and down the stairs. Harry looked around and saw that Dumbledore was gone. Only his Aunt and Uncle were in the living room and they were hugging each other and smiling, as if they were just told the best news in the world.

"No more letters." Petunia said.

"No more owls or feathers." Vernon smiled.

As they continued talking Harry looked over to the bottom of the stairs, at the cupboard he was kept in for eleven years and anger and rage began to build up inside him.

"Although why anyone would willingly want him is beyond—"

"Shut up."

Vernon and Petunia turned around to see Harry standing there with his wand pointed at them. Vernon eyed Harry cautiously before speaking.

"You don't scare me. You can't do magic outside of school."

"Oh no?" Harry asked while walking closer as his Aunt and Uncle backed up. "You want to try me?"

Harry's eyes lingered on his Aunt and Uncle for a few moments, both of them looked scared as he continued to glare at them. They were supposed to be his family, and this was supposed to be a safe place for him, a home. Where he could go and feel loved, no matter what. Instead this was a place where he was ignored, where he was scared to even exist.

Suddenly, a knock on the door got his attention. He lowered his wand and Vernon and Petunia ran past him and back up the stairs. Harry sighed and walked to the front door.

He opened the door, and standing there was a tall, elegant blonde woman. She looked like she was a high society lady. Harry had a good guess of who she was.

"Mister Potter." Narcissa greeted him quietly with a slight inclination of her head.

"Mrs. Malfoy." He replied coolly, not moving.

"I trust that Dumbledore has explained why I am here?"

"He has." Harry responded, not openly hostile, but with enough of an underlying threat that he had his wand and was prepared to use it, underage or not.

"In that case, shall we?"

Harry began lugging his trunk and owl outside. As he came outside he looked back inside the house one last time, glancing at the cupboard under the stairs before closing the door.

_Goodbye and good riddance Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. I hope you get what's coming to you._


	3. Arriving at the Manor

XXXXXX

Emerald green eyes watched Mrs. Malfoy warily, like a wounded animal who hasn't decided whether this person in front of him was a friend or foe. Harry guessed that she didn't have any kind of grudge against him, but he could think of a couple of relatives of hers that do.

"Didn't you arrive here by portkey?" Harry asked.

Narcissa raised an eyebrow at him.

"As it so happens, I drove here."

Harry walked down the sidewalk with her until they came across a jet black Rolls Royce. The chauffeur got out of the car and took his trunk, taking it to the back of the car.

"You came here in a muggle vehicle? I thought you Malfoy's hated everything muggle?"

"Being rude does not become you Harry, get in." Narcissa instructed. She had always had a fascination with muggle cars and now that her husband was no longer around she could finally get one.

Harry opened the passenger door and got in. He looked over the car, glancing at its tan leather interior as the chauffeur started the car and they began to drive away from the Dursley house. Narcissa glanced over at Harry and smiled a little when she saw that the young man looked a little nervous.

"Relax Harry," she said. "I know you may feel uneasy about this situation, but I can offer you the fact that I am unarmed, have not requested your wand, and have Dumbledore's signature verifying that I am your new legal guardian."

"What?"

Narcissa held out a paper which Harry snatched from her hand and began scanning it. There indeed was Dumbledore's signature as well as Uncle Vernon's below his, and finally Mrs. Malfoy's.

He thought he was just going to be staying with her through the summer, why would she want to become his legal guardian?

"Did you know my parents?"

"Didn't Dumbledore tell you?" Narcissa asked while looking over at him.

"He said there was more to it than he was saying. That it'd be better if you told me."

"Ah." She smiled. "I knew your mother. She was a good friend of mine when we were at Hogwarts. I will explain more when we get to the Manor. Draco doesn't know yet that you are staying and he will need to hear the story as well."

"Figures."

"I do not condone my son's actions over the past few years Harry, but it is not without complete cause. You might empathize with him a bit more once you get to know him."

Harry snorted rudely.

"Put yourself in Draco's place." Narcissa's voice was deliberately calm. "His father raised him all his life to follow the Dark Lord. Now that he's locked away there's a real chance for him not to live up to that expectation."

They sat quietly for a few moments before she spoke up again.

"Dumbledore told me what happened to Sirius," Narcissa began. Harry looked over at her gaze and met it squarely. "I'm sorry Harry. He was my cousin you know."

Harry nodded.

"Your cousin was a good man," Harry said as he throat tightened when he began thinking about him. "He didn't betray my parents to Voldemort…Peter Pettigrew did."

It just wasn't fair. Sirius had spent thirteen years of his life in Azkaban, for a crime he didn't commit…he broke out only to be killed just two and half years later.

They were quiet for the rest of the ride with Harry staring out the window. He wasn't aware of how much time had gone by when the car finally passed through an open gate, it made its way up a path to the Malfoy Manor.

"We're here," the chauffeur said.

Harry then looked out through the window and his eyes widened when he saw the mansion.

"It's huge," he said out loud.

Narcissa smiled.

"Yes, it's very big."

Harry and Narcissa exited the car as the chauffeur retrieved Harry's trunk. Narcissa walked up to the gigantic front doors and pushed it open, motioning for Harry to step inside first. He glanced around, the inside was way bigger then he thought it would be.

The floor was made of marble and looked like a large chessboard, black squares here and there. There were many portraits and paintings on the walls, and vases sitting on the floor which he assumed were very expensive. Harry looked up to see a beautiful chandelier atop his head. The ceiling looked miles away from the floor and the staircase was long. It looked like it was never-ending.

Harry then looked over to see a house elf approaching him and Mrs. Malfoy.

"Topsy, is my son home?" Narcissa asked.

"No, Lady Malfoy." The elf answered. "I believe he is still out with Ms. Parkinson."

Harry then shook his head as this was exactly how he pictured Malfoy's life to be. Living in a gigantic house with the best of everything and house elves that wait on him hand and foot.

"Well, while we wait," Narcissa said while turning to Harry. "I could show you around or perhaps you would like to get something to eat first."

"I'm not hungry."

"Alright, follow me please." Narcissa said as she led Harry down a long hallway, passing the kitchen and dining room, leading him to the elevator. She pressed a button and it began going up.

"The manor consists of four floors, each with its own magnificence," she began. "There are ten bedroom suites total, twelve bathrooms, three kitchens, five swimming pools, two are located in closed areas of the landscaped gardens, and the third outside pool is an 'infinity pool' located on the roof."

The elevator came to a stop and Harry stepped out with Narcissa as she kept talking and leading him to his bedroom.

"There are two indoor pools, one reached by its own private lift. There's a library on the second floor as well as a game room."

Narcissa stopped as reached her destination.

"You'll be staying in here."

Harry walked in and looked around. The room was twice the size of the Dursley's living room. The walls were white as well as the carpet. The room even had its own fire place.

A king size bed was in the middle of the room and it had about a dozen pillows on it. Harry looked at the corner and saw that there was a bathroom as well. Harry would have been loving this had this not been the Malfoy Manor.

As Harry stepped inside the bathroom to look around, Draco Malfoy had just reached the second floor and had a glass in his hand full of butter beer. He saw his mother down at the end of the hallway by the door of one of the spare bedrooms and began to walk towards her.

"Mother, Topsy said you were looking for me, what do you want?"

Just as he walked into the room, Harry walked out of the bathroom and the glass slipped from Draco's hand when he saw him, shattering upon contact with the floor.

"What the hell is this?"

Draco's eyes met Harry's green ones, right before they narrowed into the recognized hatred. They both went for their wands with the speed of a striking snake, only to have them ripped out of their hands by a disarming spell from Narcissa.

"Mother, why the hell is Potter-"

_"Silencio!"_

Draco was immediately shut up by the spell. Harry couldn't help but grin a little as Draco's mouth kept moving but no sound was coming out. When he finally realized he couldn't speak he started making his way towards Harry with his fists balled up.

Harry began walking towards him as well but they were both stopped when Narcissa hit them both with immobilizing spells.

"Before you two do all of the Dark Lord's work for him and kill each other, listen to me!" She snapped. "I am going to release you both, and when I do you will sit down. You will not speak, you will not curse. You won't even look at each other until I am finished. Is that understood?"

They nodded stiffly and Narcissa removed the spell. Harry went over and sat down on the bed while Draco sat in a chair, the furthest he could be away from Harry in the same room.


	4. Explanations

XXXXXX

Both Harry and Draco sat on opposite ends of the room, doing as Mrs. Malfoy had instructed them to do. Once she saw that the two of them had calmed down, she took a deep breath and began speaking.

"When I attended Hogwarts years ago, I met a girl two years older than me and we became very good friends. Her name was Lily Evans."

Narcissa smiled a little as she looked over at Harry.

"Lily was a very smart witch, very beautiful and feisty, and a muggle born. I was a pureblood, but I was in Ravenclaw, and thus not drawn to the traditional lines of hatred between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Also during this time my cousin Sirius was best friends with a young man named James Potter."

"You mean that murderer-" Draco began but stopped at the sight of his mother's fierce glare at him. Harry was glaring at him too but then turned back to Narcissa, wanting to hear more.

"Predictable, Lily ended up becoming an Auror, and an honest one at that. She also ended up marrying James, after he "stopped being such an obnoxious prat," as she put it. I was the maid of honor at the wedding."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise and Narcissa smiled softly.

"Soon they had a son, named Harry James Potter. James named Sirius your godfather, and Lily named me your godmother," she said while looking at Harry. "But, by the time your parents had died, I was married to Lucius and Dumbledore wasn't about to give you over to me because of the suspicion that Lucius was a Death Eater. Sirius was then arrested, and the only place for you to go was to live with your aunt and uncle."

Narcissa took a deep breath before finishing.

"Now that Lucius is locked away, I can look after you now, just as your mother asked." Narcissa smiled at Harry. "And because you're my godson, that would make you and Draco," she said while glancing back at her son, "God brothers."

They were all quiet for a few moments after Narcissa finished. Harry was staring at the floor, still going over everything in his head. Draco suddenly jumped up from his chair.

"This stinkin' mudblood lover isn't my brother!" He yelled. "He isn't even related to me!"

Narcissa glared at him and looked like she was about to snap back at her son when he suddenly stormed out of the room, not caring that his mother still had possession of his wand. She shook her head as Draco stomped down the hall and to his room; there was a lot of his father in him.

She glanced back at Harry, who was still staring at his feet.

"I'm sorry Harry. I know this is a lot to take in." Narcissa then turned and looked down at the mess Draco had created when he dropped his glass of butter beer. "I'll send someone to clean this up."

A few minutes later Harry looked up when heard the noise of footsteps and another house elf appeared at the doorway, this one looked to be a female.

"Oh my," she said when she saw him. "You're Harry Potter."

Harry nodded.

"Yes."

"So nice to meet you, I'm Lorna. Anytime you need anything, just let me know, Master Potter."

"Just call me Harry."

"Yes, Harry."

Lorna bent down to start cleaning up the broken glass when the sound of a dog barking caused Harry to look up again. Suddenly a massive black English Mastiff came into the room and it made its way towards Harry.

"Oh, that's Master Draco's dog." Lorna said while she continued cleaning. "His name is Omega. Do you like dogs?"

The dog reminded him a lot of someone.

"Sure." Harry muttered.

Omega began sniffing Harry and he lightly pet the dog on his head. After Lorna got done, Harry took the dog's collar and led him out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Harry then walked over and layed back down on the bed, letting his head rest on one of the soft pillows. He began thinking about everything Narcissa said and realized that he had someone to call family, a godmother but he wasn't sure he wanted one if that meant Malfoy of all people was going to be his god brother.

He really did have the worst luck in the world.

XXXXXX

Over the next several hours, Harry tossed and turned in his bed, not fully asleep but not fully awake either. Suddenly he shot up with his arm outstretched and his hand grasping at the air. He sighed as he let his arm fall, shook his head of the thoughts and looked over his surroundings, remembering quickly where he was.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

"Uh…come in," Harry muttered.

The door opened and Topsy stuck his head in.

"Lady Malfoy wanted me to let you know that dinner is ready."

"I'm not in the mood."

Topsy looked a little uneasy.

"Mrs. Malfoy…was really quite adamant about you joining her."

Harry sighed.

"Fine."

Topsy led Harry downstairs to the dining room where Narcissa was sitting at one end of a long dinning table that could have sat twenty people. Malfoy wasn't at the table and Harry was glad of that. Maybe because of the size of this place he could avoid seeing him until it was time to go back to Hogwarts.

"Harry," Narcissa smiled when she saw him. "Have a seat."

Harry walked down to the other end of the table and sat in the chair. Topsy then sat a plate of lasagna in front of him and walked away. Harry picked up his fork and slowly began eating, it did taste good but he really didn't have much of an appetite. After a few minutes, he was just poking his food with the fork. Narcissa then noticed how little Harry had eaten.

"You've barely touched your dinner, Harry. Don't you like Italian food?"

"Its fine, I'm just…not very hungry."

Narcissa nodded. She understood that it was going to take some time for her godson to get use to his new surroundings.

Harry then took a quick glance at the woman at the end of the long table. Despite what he thought of her husband and son, Mrs. Malfoy really did seem like a nice woman. And she was such good friends with his mother that she named her his godmother.

He had a thought on his mind that he wanted to get out.

"Mrs. Malfoy…can I ask you a question?" Harry asked slowly.

"Anything dear," she said while not looking up.

"Why on Earth did you marry Lucius Malfoy?"

Narcissa laughed to herself after Harry said that, not expecting that question.

"Well…I really didn't have much of a choice. My marriage was pre-arranged."

Harry looked up at her.

"You were forced to get married? That's awful."

"Yes, but over time Lucius and I did fall in love…believe it or not."

Harry looked at her, a bit pityingly but Narcissa shook her head.

"What's done is done. I'm sure you have some aspects of your past you would wish to change." At this Narcissa smiled kindly. "It's a new beginning now. If I had let myself go with the past after all these years, I'm afraid I might be in St. Mungo's right now. The past can do you no good in the present."

Narcissa then took one last sip from her glass of wine and got up from her chair.

"Just leave your plate when you are finished. The elves will take care of it."

After she left the room, Harry still sat at the table, picking at his food. As he did, Draco exited the kitchen with a plate of food in his hand, taking it to the dining room. When he walked in, he stopped when he noticed Potter sitting there. At _his _table, in _his_ Manor.

Just the sight of him angered Draco. It wasn't bad enough that he had to deal with the boy-who-lived-to-become-a-pain-in-his-ass at Hogwarts, he now had to deal with him in his very own home.

Draco walked down to the end of the table where Potter was and put his plate down, then pushed it into Potter's plate.

"Potter," he growled as he sat down. "Enjoying your dinner?"

"Just leave me alone Malfoy," Harry said wearily. He wasn't in the mood to fight.

"Leave me alone Malfoy," Draco mimicked in a high pitched voice. "What if I don't want to leave you alone?" He bumped his plate into Harry's again. "What are you going to do? Make Me?"

Harry rolled his eyes but didn't respond.

"Scared, Potter?"

Still no response.

"Is the big brave goody-goody muggle-loving Potter _scared_?" Draco asked cruelly. "Got no answer? Didn't think so, because you know you are. There's no Dumbledore here for you to run to when someone's being mean to you."

Harry turned his head and glared at him.

"You're so brave Malfoy. Daddies little rich boy, gets everything he wants and never works for anything, just snaps his fingers and gets what he wants on command."

He got up to leave but just as he reached the door Malfoy spoke again.

"At least I have a father."

Harry stopped walking after that and clenched his fist. This was exactly why he didn't want the Slytherin for a god brother. Finally able to get his legs moving again, Harry walked out of the dining room to the elevator, taking it up to his room.


	5. Lock Down

XXXXXX

_The wind blew viciously and the surroundings of __Privet Drive__ were filled with people walking around carrying umbrellas and rain coats. Unlike the rest of the summers this summer was attacked by an angry storm of wind and thundering rain. The external sound and gush was just like the environment inside Number __four Privet Drive__._

_Petunia was lying of the floor, her eyes were wide open but they were shallow and – lifeless. __Vernon__ was convulsing on the floor as his body was going through unimaginable pain._

_"I'll ask again," said a demonic voice. "Where is Potter?"_

_"I told you…I don't know!" __Vernon__ cried out._

_"Crucio!"_

_Again, __Vernon__'s body twisted and turned on the floor in agony. _

_"Please!" He begged._

_Just then, __Dudley__ came through the front door and began hearing his father's screams from the living room. _

_"Dad!"_

_He ran towards the living room and a figure in a dark cloak turned towards __Dudley__ and lifted his wand._

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

Harry's eyes shot open in a flash. He took a deep breath as he noticed his bed sheets were twisted around him so tight, he was about to choke. His body ached as the memory came back to him of being under Voldemort's Cruciatus Curse back in that graveyard the night he came back. He then thought back to the dream...he could have sworn he saw his Uncle in the dream, as well as Dudley.

As Harry sat down on the end of the bed, still trying to remember the dream the door slowly opened and Lorna slowly walked in, wheeling a cart holding a tray of waffles and a glass of orange juice.

"Good morning, Harry." She greeted.

Lorna pushed the car in front of him.

"I bought you breakfast."

Harry smiled.

"Thank you."

He was thankful because he actually had an appetite this morning. After he got done eating, he began thinking about Ron and Hermione. They had owled him about a week ago, but he never responded and he figured they were probably worried about him. His room didn't have a window, so he took Hedwig's cage and walked out of his room, heading down the hallway.

Just then, he heard two voices coming from the study. The door opened up and out stepped Narcissa and Professor Snape.

Snape's eye's narrowed when he saw him.

The two of them have never gotten along very well, and it only got worse when Harry had to take Occlumency lessons from him.

The last lesson he had, Snape began to insult his father, and Harry using the shield charm; Protego to avoid the potion's master from going into his mind again, only to see his father as a teenager acting just like…Malfoy.

After that, Snape refused to have him back for another lesson.

"Mister Potter." Snape finally greeted.

Harry nodded his head a little.

"Professor."

"Good morning Harry," Narcissa greeted before she and Snape walked down the hallway and out of sight. Harry then walked into another bedroom that had a window. Harry pulled out a piece of paper and a quill and began writing.

_Dear Ron & Hermione;_

_Sorry it took so long for me to write back, but something has come up. Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to make it to the Burrow this summer nor am I going to be able to write to you. But don't worry about me, I'm okay. I miss you guys a lot, say hi to Ginny and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for me._

_See you at Hogwarts. _

_Harry._

He tied the parchment to Hedwig's leg, absently stroked her head, and opened the window to let her go. Just as she flu out, he heard Malfoy's voice.

"What are you doing Potter? Sending a letter to the Weasel? Or the mudblood?"

Harry just ignored him and continued to watch Hedwig fly until he could no longer see her. Draco was disappointed that his insult didn't rile Potter up like it usually did. He then thought back to what Severus had told him and his mother in the study.

"Not leaping to their defense? That's strange, I thought you always did. You certainly leapt to your dear godfather's defense didn't you?

Harry froze before slowly turned his head to look back at him and from the look in his eyes, Malfoy knew he'd hit the right nerve.

"What?"

The air had charged, now apprehensive. Harry didn't understand how the other boy could know about that. Draco only smirked in return and began speaking again.

"Severus told me that you got your good for nothing law breaking godfather killed. Going to the Department of Mysteries and bringing all your little friends with you. I guess Sirius Black was just as stupid as you-"

Malfoy's sentence was suddenly cut off as Harry's fist smashed into the side of his face, knocking the unsuspecting teen to the side and into the wall.

Silence fell.

Harry was breathing heavily in anger, Malfoy seemed to be trying to get over his shock at having been hit. And suddenly he launched himself at Harry with a snarl, his own fist landing in the black-haired boy's face, no doubt the hit would result in a bruise. They fell on the ground, fighting viciously, shouting at each other.

Malfoy then got his legs up, and kicked Harry in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. Harry snarled his anger and ran towards Malfoy again.

"Stop it!"

Narcissa used her wand to stop Harry, throwing him backwards and halting his murderous charge. She glared down at him when he landed. Draco started to laugh which was stupid, because his mother was now staring unpleasantly at him when she spoke.

"The two of you will come with me _now_."

That was the tone of voice you didn't argue with. Harry slowly got up and followed her and Draco out of the hallway and back towards another one of the spare bedrooms. She opened the door with a jerk, which clearly indicated her displeasure.

Narcissa then turned towards the both of them.

"I do not know what the problem is with the two of you, and to be honest, I do not care. I want it resolved, _now_. Do you both understand me?" Her glare was fierce.

Harry nodded, a little nervous because she really did look mad. He was also ashamed of himself for doing exactly what Malfoy had wanted, by giving in to his temper.

"And you?" Narcissa asked, looking towards her son.

Draco nodded.

"Good. Now this will be fixed by the time I come back, or I promise you that you will _not_ like the consequences. I am not running a daycare. You're both sixteen years old, act like it!"

Narcissa then spun around and shut them in with an angry slam of the door, then used a spell to make sure they couldn't get out. Neither boy had their wand on them as well, they weren't going anywhere.

They were both silent for a little while, staring off into different directions. Finally, Harry turned towards Malfoy.

"Why do you hate me so much?" He demanded, glaring at his back. "What the hell did I ever do to you?"

Malfoy turned to face him, his face closed and unfriendly, and didn't answer. He walked up to the door and grabbed the knob, before sighing when he realized he couldn't open it.


	6. Bound to Stay Bound

XXXXXX

"Urg! This is so ridiculous," Draco exclaimed as he walked over and kicked the bed in frustration. "I can't believe she stuck me in here with you!"

"Well, it's not like I asked for it either," Harry sighed, sitting on the edge of the couch.

"Shut up Potter!" He snapped. "This is your fault my mother decided to turn this room into a cozy little torture chamber."

Harry glared at him.

"We can turn this into a death chamber if you'd prefer."

Draco turned around and stalked over to Harry who quickly got to his feet in response, being ready just in case the Slytherin tried anything.

"Are you threatening me, Potter? Because I really wouldn't recommend it. Especially with no witnesses around and no one to help you."

By this point, Draco was in Harry's face, glaring down at him with nothing but hatred burning in his eyes. Draco then finally shoved Harry with such force he hit the wall behind him.

"How about I give you another scar for your collection, for even daring to step foot into my house!"

Harry then shoved the taller boy back.

"Listen, you may not want me here, but I definitely don't want to be here!"

"Yeah, I bet you wish you were at the Weasley's shack don't you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

As Harry and Draco continued arguing, Narcissa and Severus were outside at the patio, sitting across from each other at a small glass table, waiting for their lunch to arrive.

"Do you really think this is a good idea? Putting the two of them together in the same room?" Snape asked.

"What would you have done to handle this?"

"Honestly…I have no idea."

Just then, Topsy came and set their drinks down in front of them.

"When are you going to let them out?" Snape asked while reaching for his glass of wine.

"Five o'clocktonight, just in time for dinner."

They were quiet for a few moments as they drank their wine before Narcissa spoke again.

"I know they are going to fight more in that room. But hopefully, by the time I let them out they will have gotten everything out and will be too fatigued to continue anymore."

Snape shrugged.

"It might work…or you might return to find them both dead."

As they continued to talk, back in the bedroom Draco leaned against the wall and watched Harry. By this time they had stopped yelling at each other and Harry was just sitting on the couch, staring at his feet, no longer paying any attention to him.

Draco then decided to say something that would rile the other boy up.

"Still sulking about your godfather Potter?"

Harry looked up and then glared over at him.

"I'm not sulking."

"Oh please, Potter. I saw you the other night at dinner. Gazing off into space with sad eyes like someone just killed your pet dog…well, I suppose in a manner of speaking…"

"Shut up Malfoy!"

"No better retorts than that?" Malfoy smirked. "That's too bad."

Harry now was almost shaking with anger.

"Don't you _dare_ say anything about Sirius' death!" Harry ordered, hands tightening on the couch as though he was trying to strangle it. "You don't know anything…"

"You must have forgot that Severus was just here. He told me and my mother all about you and your stupid friend's flight to the Ministry, and how Sirius followed you there and got himself killed. I'm sure all you're doing now is beating yourself up, saying that it's all your fault-"

"It _was _my fault," Harry interrupted. "I shouldn't have-"

"So one person died because you did something stupid, big deal." Malfoy scoffed. "What do you want, everybody to stop and give you sympathy?"

"I don't want sympathy! You have no idea what it's like…my godfather is dead because of something I did! You have no idea Malfoy-"

"Well, you don't exactly have any idea of my life either do you, Potter?" Draco said with a harsh smile. "Everybody dies, you mourn for a while and then you move on. You don't sit around and wallow in self pity forever, like you appear to be doing."

Continuing to glare at Malfoy for another few seconds before slamming his back down on the couch and looking up at the ceiling, Harry sighed in frustration as he began to count the seconds instead of the minutes.

XXXXXX

The day was passing by agonizingly slowly. Whatever Narcissa had hoped being in the same room for a few hours would do, Harry doubted it would work out however she planned. With each passing minute, Harry and Draco became increasingly agitated with each other.

It took only a single misplaced word to send them off into an argument, which is exactly what had just happened;

"This is all your fault Potter!" Malfoy yelled again, angry that he was _still_ in the same room as Potter. "You hit me first! You're the one who should be in trouble!"

"If you had just kept your bloody mouth shut, maybe this wouldn't have happened!" Harry growled. The longer he stayed in the vicinity of Malfoy the more his stomach crawled and the more he wanted to punch the other boy again.

"Not to mention it was a cheap shot!" Malfoy shouted again and finally had enough.

He balled up his fist and sent it straight at Harry's jaw.

All those times Quidditch had saved him in the past, and it came into play again. The sharp eyes he had developed from looking for the snitch had spotted the shift Malfoy had made and the motion of his arm. Harry quickly scrambled back, and Malfoy's fist hit his shoulder instead.

Draco raised his hands, ready for a retaliation that never came. After a few seconds, he spoke.

"Well?" Malfoy asked, a little confused.

"Well what?" Harry snapped, rubbing the spot on his arm Malfoy's fist connected with.

"Aren't you going to fight back?"

"I'm done fighting with you!" He yelled. Maybe if Sirius hadn't of died, or Voldemort had never returned and none of this had ever happened he would fight back against the other boy. But now, after all he had been through he could care less about Malfoy and his insults. "I have bigger problems to worry about than carrying on some stupid schoolyard feud with you!"

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe like Lord Voldemort, you idiot! Something you should be worried about too!"

Malfoy laughed as he tried not to flinch at the sound of the Dark Lord's name being said.

"And why is that? The Dark Lord wouldn't hate me, I'm not a mudblood."

Harry narrowed his eyes as he clenched his fist, it took everything he had not to start up another fist fight with him. He then managed to calm down a little and finally responded.

"Someday you're going to regret every insult you've give out."

"Is that a threat?"

Glaring at his blonde nemesis, Harry smiled, even though it was obviously strained and anything but kind.

"No, it's a promise."

Neither one said another word after that and the two of them turned away from each other, heading back to their spots. At this point they really didn't have any more to say to each other. They had argued and thrown out every insult they had and both seemed to be tired from it.

Draco sat down on the bed while Harry sat on the couch, taking a deep breath and staring off into the empty fireplace hoping that Mrs. Malfoy would be coming back to let them out soon.


	7. Matter of Trust

XXXXXX

_Harry was pinned against the wall, unable to move an inch. He could only watch in this giant round room as the members of the Order of the __Phoenix__ fought against Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters._

_Bellatrix was torturing Neville Longbottom with the Cruciatus Curse, like she did to his parents so many years ago. Arthur Weasley was dueling with Lucius Malfoy until he was disarmed and hit with the killing curse._

_One of the Death Eater's made a slashing motion and killed Hermione with a knife. Her lifeless body hit the floor and her blood began going everywhere. Ron was twitching helplessly on the ground as he was surrounded and cursed by several Death Eater's._

_Remus Lupin's head was crushed in, Tonks was dead. As was Severus Snape. Every member of the Order had been slaughtered._

_And finally, Dumbledore had lost to Voldemort, his crushed, twisted, mangled body was laying half-in and half-out of a fountain, blood turning the floor and the water red._

_Voldemort then looked over towards Harry and a sadistic grin came over his snake like face before he pointed his wand straight at him._

"No! Please!"

Harry shot up in panic and looked around, his eyes darting all around the room before he was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

He was still in the bedroom that Mrs. Malfoy had sent him to. He must have fallen asleep while lying on the couch. It was just a nightmare.

Harry wiped away a little bit of sweat from his forehead, then groaned when he suddenly remembered he wasn't alone in this room. He couldn't imagine how Malfoy was going to torment him about this. Harry looked around the room until he finally saw that Malfoy was lying on the bed, apparently asleep.

His brows furrowed as he continued looking at him. How could Malfoy not have woken up after that? Ron woke up when Harry was just muttering in his sleep, how could Malfoy have stayed asleep through his shouts?

He then glanced at the grandfather clock in the room and saw that it was approaching five o'clock. When was Mrs. Malfoy going to let them out?

Just as he thought that, Harry began hearing voices coming from down the hall. It was Mrs. Malfoy and it sounded like she was talking to one of the elves. Harry got up and headed over towards the bed, as he did Draco saw him coming and shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Harry put a hand on Malfoy's shoulder and shook the other teen.

"Wake up Malfoy."

"What do you want Potter?" Draco said while slowly opening his eyes. His voice was heavy with exhaustion, and his gaze went to the hand on his shoulder.

"I think your mother is coming."

"Finally," he muttered as he got to his feet. He walked over and stood side by side with Harry in front of the door, waiting for Narcissa to let them out.

"What are we going to do?" Harry asked.

"What are you talking about?" Draco snapped.

"Your mom said we wouldn't like the consequences if we didn't work things out."

"So what? She's not going to do anything."

Harry sighed.

"Look…how about we just try to stay out of each other's way until school starts again? It's not like this place isn't big enough."

"Fine with me."

After he said that, the door opened and Narcissa stepped in. She looked over the two of them and saw they had no additional marks from fighting, other than the ones they had from this morning.

"I trust that you have worked out whatever your issues were?" Narcissa asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Draco said, surprising Harry. Harry had never heard Malfoy so respectful of authority like that in the entire time he'd known him.

"Is that so, Harry?" Narcissa asked, looking towards him.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, unconsciously echoing Malfoy's words.

"So I'm going to be dealing with sixteen year olds and not six year olds?"

"Yes, ma'am," they both answered.

Narcissa looked pleased.

"Good."

After they were let out, Narcissa led them both to the dining room for dinner. Draco ate quietly, and Harry was able to eat more than he did the previous night, but he still had something on his mind.

It was the nightmare he had. He had seen everyone he cared about, well…except for Snape killed right in front of him. What troubled him the most was that it had a very good chance of coming true one day. Voldemort was pure evil and would spare no one that stood in his way, especially if they had any type of connection to him.

After a few more minutes, Draco excused himself and left the table, Harry then drank the rest of his water and prepared himself to get up himself but Narcissa's voice stopped him.

"Harry, stay here for a minute."

Harry stopped and looked back at her.

"Come down here."

Sighing, Harry did what he was told and walked down to the end of the table were Narcissa was sitting.

"What is it?" He asked as he took a seat.

"I can't help but notice how miserable you've looked over the past two nights." Narcissa began. "Is being here really that unpleasant for you?"

"It's not that." Harry responded and it really wasn't, although being around Malfoy certainly wasn't helping. If he had a choice he would have preferred to be at the Weasley's place, despite how grand the manor was.

"Then what is it?"

He didn't answer and Narcissa smiled a little.

"You can tell me. I am your godmother, remember?"

Harry scoffed.

"Right. You're my godmother."

Narcissa turned her head a little as she looked at him.

"I am. I told you the story. Your mother-"

"Yeah, my mother made you my godmother!" Harry then yelled as he suddenly got angry. "So where were you all these years? Where were you when I really needed you?"

She blinked a few times, surprised by Harry's sudden anger before finally sighing heavily and responding.

"I think you know the answer to that Harry."

"Yeah. You got married to Lucius Malfoy."

Harry then stood up and began to walk out of the room but Narcissa got up as well and grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"I already explained all this, Harry. I didn't choose to marry him-"

"So why did you? Why didn't you just refuse?"

"I couldn't do that." Narcissa said incredulously. "My family would have disowned me had I done so."

"You probably would have been better off."

Narcissa then let go of his wrist as he looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"My mother and father might have not been the greatest parents in the world, but they were still my parents. They had rules just like any other family. Their punishment methods might have been a tad bit harsher but every family is different."

Harry could only shake his head in response and Narcissa looked down, not really wanting to this conversation right now. She decided to end things as motherly as she could.

"I know I wasn't there for you when you were younger."

She then reached out and placed a finger on his chin, gently moving his head so that he was looking at her.

"I'm here now. You can talk to me when you're ready...I hope you do."

She then walked away, out of the dining room as Harry watched her until she was gone. Harry then left the room himself and took the elevator up to his room and once he got there sat down on his bed and sighed before deciding to get some sleep.


	8. A Civil Conversation

XXXXXX

It had now been several days since Mrs. Malfoy had forced Harry and Draco to stay in the same room and work out their differences. When they weren't able to do it, Harry just suggested that he and Malfoy stay out of each other's way and avoid each other until school started…but the last thing he actually expected was for the other boy to do it.

He thought Malfoy was going to keep tormenting him, making fun of him and his friends despite the possibility of punishment from his mother.

But during dinner or whenever else they would catch a glance at each other, Malfoy just ignored him, no insults or dirty looks like he usually did. Maybe he would just leave him alone after all for the rest of the summer.

Harry then shook his head, no way.

Malfoy had some kind of trick up his sleeve, some evil plot, something positively diabolical, and it was anybody's guess of what it was. He sighed just thinking about it. Harry then mentally told himself he could get through this, just a few more weeks and summer would be over and he would be out of here. He could survive it, he had been through worse.

Just then, somebody knocked on the door.

Harry got up from his bed and walked over, opening it up to see it was Lorna.

"Hello Harry." The house elf greeted cheerfully. "Is now a good time to come in and clean?"

Harry looked back at the room. It really wasn't that messy, the bed was unmade but that was it.

"Uh…sure." He answered. Harry stepped out of the room and Lorna walked in. While he never said anything, to have someone to cook and clean for him…it was nice to be on the other end of that for once.

But then he quickly remembered how horrible it was and decided to bring something up.

"Lorna." He began. "Don't you think you should get paid to do this work?"

Lorna quickly spun around with a look of fear on her face.

"You shouldn't speak of such things. Topsy and I are happy to do work, we get food, shelter-"

Harry frowned in return as Lorna continued.

"Master Lucius wouldn't be happy if he had heard your suggestion."

"I don't see Lucius around." Harry responded. "You and Topsy get treated like slaves."

He then started thinking about Mrs. Malfoy. Maybe if he brought this up to her, he would see for himself if she was truly different from her husband.

"I'll see what I can do."

Harry then realized that he had been cooped up in the Manor for days now. He wanted to go outside and stretch his legs, let the sunlight hit his face. Harry took the elevator down to the first floor and opened the back door to the yard.

He began walking, looking at the garden and the big colorful flowers that were growing in it, taking in the fresh air. It was nice and peaceful when suddenly he heard the sound of a dog barking. As he kept going straight he finally saw Malfoy throwing a tennis ball for his dog, Omega to fetch.

Draco glanced over when he felt somebody watching him and saw Harry, but didn't say anything. He just turned his attention back to his dog when he came running back over with the ball.

Harry began walking, intending to pass by Malfoy and circle around the outside's of the giant mansion but suddenly, he said something to him that came to his mind.

"Why are you ignoring me?" He asked quickly, suddenly feeling like an idiot for saying it afterwards, but not being able to take it back, he stood straight and stared at the other boy, waiting for an answer.

"I thought we agreed to stay out of each other's way."

"Yeah…" Harry responded, he was the one who suggested it after all. "But I didn't think you'd-"

"You didn't think I would?" Draco interrupted.

"No." Harry answered honestly. "So how come you're not messing with me? Are you really that afraid of your mother?"

"I'm not afraid of anything." Draco snapped as Omega came running up to him and he threw the ball.

Seconds ticked by and turned into minutes, Harry rolled his eyes and prepared to walk away, a little irritated with the pale boy, but just then Malfoy finally spoke again.

"It seemed to me like you have enough to deal with, without me messing with you all the time," he answered and again threw to the tennis ball for Omega to go fetch.

Harry glanced at Malfoy with his eyebrows raised. He must have heard wrong.

"What do you mean?" He asked, his eyes hooked on Malfoy, unable to take his gaze off him.

Draco sighed.

"You were yelling in your sleep the other day loud enough to wake up the whole Forbidden Forest. You couldn't actually believe that I didn't hear that did you?"

He then took the ball back from his dog and threw it again, then turned towards Harry.

"You never said anything about it. I thought you were still sleeping." Harry responded.

"I was pretending to be asleep."

Harry cleared his throat and looked down at the ground. It was a little harder now to continue this conversation now that Malfoy was facing him, but it seemed to be going well enough so far.

"I didn't know you actually had nightmares Potter." Draco continued. "There's nothing about the way you woke up that's funny."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, knowing that his confusion was showing on his face. But he just didn't understand.

Malfoy had made fun of Hagrid when Buckbeak was going to be executed, he made fun of Neville and himself for doing so poorly in potions, he made fun of Ron and his family for being poor, and he definitely wasn't a fan of Dumbledore and the way he ran Hogwarts. The Malfoy he knew wouldn't give a damn if Harry had been captured and killed by Lord Voldemort himself.

So why wouldn't Malfoy torment him about having nightmares?

"At first I thought you were just acting the way you were so you could get sympathy and attention from my mother, like you do from everyone else." Draco began.

Harry narrowed his eyes and was about to respond but Malfoy continued. "No matter how much of a muggle lover I think you are, and how I'll mock you for it, I would never doubt the sincerity of your pain after what I heard the other day."

He then shrugged.

"Like you would understand," he said with a deep breath and looked down at his dog who was barking at him to throw the ball again. Draco did so, than noticed that Potter still hadn't left.

Harry didn't know what to do. For the first time, he was interested in hearing what Malfoy had to say, but felt like an idiot just standing there staring at him. He felt like he understood some of what Malfoy told him, he just didn't know how to explain it either.

"No, go on," he urged.

Draco sighed again, he wished that Potter would just leave but he just kept talking to him. He finally then answered;

"Contrary to what you may think, I don't sneer at real pain."

Harry stared at him and then looked down at Malfoy's dog who was coming towards him now. Omega dropped the ball in front of him and Harry smiled a little, picked it up and threw it. As they watched the dog run after it, Harry spoke again.

"I like your mom, Malfoy. She really seems nice."

"She is nice." Draco agreed.

The continued playing with the dog for a few minutes before Draco spoke.

"Severus told me about having to teach you Occlumency lessons."

Harry snorted.

"Yeah…did he say how terrible I was?"

"Pretty much. You know, I'm not as good as he is…but I could teach you if you want. It might help with your nightmares."

"No thanks…I really don't want you to be able to see into my memories Malfoy," Harry said slowly, surprised that Malfoy had actually offered. "It's nothing personal."

Draco shrugged.

"It's fine."

Harry then looked up at the sky before taking a deep breath and smiling to himself.

"We're actually having a civil conversation," he realized. "Who would have thought that possible?"

Despite himself, Malfoy grinned as well as the two boys continued to stand outside and play fetch with the dog.


	9. See For Yourself

XXXXXX

Even though they had talked and even managed to get along for a brief period of time outside as they played catch with the dog, there was no discussion at all between Harry and Draco at dinner when evening came. After it was over, Harry began walking around the third floor of the manor, exploring as he looked at multiple portraits on the wall and going from room to room.

He ended up in the library and marveled at the size of it when he walked in. The floor was tiled with white marble and there were rows upon rows of books. Several couches were inside as well and when he looked up at the roof of the room, it had a painting of London on it.

Harry then slowly took a seat as he continued to look around the room. He then started to think about how routine things have been since he'd arrived. Breakfast in the morning, dinner in the evening...it was starting to become…normal.

He should have been happy, it was what he wanted after all. To be normal. But he didn't want it here, and he didn't want it with Narcissa and Draco Malfoy. It was still surreal for him whenever he really thought about it…he was staying in the Malfoy Manor. And he wasn't a prisoner here.

He wanted to have a normal life with Sirius, he wanted Sirius to be his legal guardian. He wanted to live with him just as his mother and father had asked of Sirius to do just in case anything should ever happen to them.

But that wasn't an option anymore, as hard as that was to accept. As Harry continued to think about his deceased godfather, he then remembered that his parents had asked Narcissa to do the same, to look out for him.

Harry then sighed heavily as he continued thinking about it. As strange as it sounded it was true…Narcissa Malfoy was his godmother.

He wanted to trust her, he wanted to have the same connection with her that he once had with Sirius, and she may have not been a bad person now. But she still married a Death Eater, and she was still the mother of the boy who had made his life very difficult at Hogwarts, along with his friends.

He began looking around the room again, at all the books when suddenly a voice got his attention.

"Harry? Are you alright?"

He then looked up and saw that Mrs. Malfoy herself had entered the room and was looking at him with concern. He shook his head.

"Fine."

"Are you sure?"

Harry nodded and Narcissa slowly turned around to leave, but before she reached the door, Harry blurted out;

"I miss Sirius."

Narcissa stopped and looked back at him as Harry lowered his eyes, knowing that he couldn't take it back. He just needed to talk to someone about it, and she was the only one around right now.

"What?"

"You said talk to you." Harry began. "I'm talking to you."

Walking further into the room, Narcissa took a seat on the couch across from Harry, happy that her godson was at least trying to have some kind of conversation with her.

"I know you miss him." She responded.

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Oh my." Narcissa almost laughed. "So many years ago, when he was a teenager. Before he ran away."

"And then he was disowned?" Harry asked, but he already knew the answer.

"Yes. And then my sister was disowned years later. It was very hard for me to see that happen, but there was nothing I could do."

The two of them were quiet for a few moments before Harry decided to bring something up. It was just another way of seeing just how she really was, how she really thought.

"You believe that purebloods are superior, don't you?"

Narcissa just looked at her godson after he asked that and Harry continued.

"I mean, I can't imagine you wouldn't after being married to Lucius Malfoy for so long. Even if it was a pre-arranged marriage."

"Harry." Narcissa sighed. "I don't want all the muggle born wizards and witches killed."

"I didn't ask if you did. I asked if you thought purebloods were superior."

She didn't answer and in a way Harry almost felt sorry for her. After all, being prejudice towards a group of people wasn't something you were born with, it was something that was taught to you. Harry couldn't imagine what it must have been like to grow up with those kind of parents.

"It doesn't really matter what I think." Narcissa finally answered. "After I got married, the only thing that mattered to me was my son."

"So you just let Lucius fill your son's head with the same bigotry your parents did with you? That Sirius' parents tried to do with him?"

"It wasn't a matter of _letting_ him do anything." She responded in a hard tone. "Lucius Malfoy was a rich, powerful man from a well-known pureblood family. I was his wife, nothing more. There wasn't really much I could do."

"You say that a lot." Harry observed. "That there was nothing you could do."

Silence overcame the two again as they didn't look at each other. Harry just stared at her shoes and Narcissa found her nails to be interesting. After a minute, she finally spoke again.

"Maybe if I was a stronger person I would have spoken up. I would have told him to let Draco make up his own mind about things. I wish I was a stronger person."

"So why don't you start now?" Harry asked.

"I believe I already have. Haven't I treated you well since you've been here?"

He couldn't argue with that. If this was some kind of plan to turn him over to Voldemort he believed that she already would have done it by now.

"Yes."

"I know that you miss Sirius, and you probably feel like you have no family left…but I'm your family. And I do care for you. And whether you like it or not, Draco is your family too."

Harry's eyes went to the side but before he could speak, Narcissa began again.

"I know you've had your problems over the years. But don't you think you could make an effort? Try to start all over?"

"Mrs. Malfoy…he has to be willing to make an effort too."

Narcissa nodded.

"I know."

It would be hard for Harry to look past all the things Malfoy had said and done over the years to him and his friends…but in the end it was nothing he _couldn't_ forgive and forget.

After all, it wasn't Malfoy who killed his parents. Or put his name in the Goblet of Fire, or killed Cedric Diggory or any of the other truly horrible things that had happened to him over the years.

It was just a school rivalry he had with Malfoy, and to be honest he wouldn't mind if it came to an end. But Malfoy would have to be willing to put an end to it as well, he would have to be willing to stop tormenting him and his friends. Harry really didn't know if he had that in him.

As he continued to think, Harry didn't notice that Narcissa had gotten up and came over to his side.

"I'll see you in the morning, Harry."

She then bent down and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek that caught him by surprise and caused him to turn red. He watched as she went for the door and then quickly remembered something.

"Mrs. Malfoy?"

She turned back around.

"You can call me Narcissa."

"Um, I was thinking…shouldn't the house elves be paid?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they do all the work around here. Shouldn't they get some kind of salary?"

A small smile came to her face.

"I'll think about it. Good night, Harry."

Harry smiled back.

"Good night…Narcissa."

He watched as she turned and headed out the door as he continued to think to himself. Maybe she was different from her husband after all.


	10. Occlumency Lesson

XXXXXX

The following morning, Harry was sitting in the dining room waiting for his breakfast to be prepared as he was attempting to read the Daily Prophet. However, there was nothing very interesting in the paper and he soon discarded it. He then looked over when he saw the kitchen door open and Lorna walked out and gave him the good news.

"Harry." She smiled. "Lady Malfoy is going to start paying Topsy and I ten galleons a week for our work."

He smiled. To be honest he was more happy that Narcissa agreed to do it than he was for the elves. Maybe she is different he thought again to himself.

"That's great, Lorna."

Topsy then came out with his plate and sat in down in front of him just as Narcissa walked in and had overheard what Lorna had told her godson.

"Yes, I'm paying the house elves from now on. Does this make you happy?"

"It's a nice thing you're doing, Mrs. Malfoy."

She gave him a look.

"I mean…Narcissa."

Narcissa smiled a little as she took a seat. A plate of food was brought to her but she ignored it and continued looking at her godson. She had some bad news to tell him and didn't know how to bring it up. She rather just get it over with and tell him now instead of later. Harry shifted in his seat under her gaze and finally spoke up.

"What is it?"

"Harry…I don't know how to tell you this, but Dumbledore sent me a letter last night. He has informed me that the Dursley's have been killed."

Harry stared at her in shock.

"What? All of them?"

"Yes."

Harry stared at his plate, dumbfounded. Narcissa got up and walked over to where he was sitting and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

Harry nodded.

"I just…I don't know how to feel about it."

"It's okay, you don't have to feel anything."

Narcissa then headed out of the dining room and after a few minutes Harry got up and left as well. He headed up the stairs, thinking about his relatives every step of the way. Yes he had hoped that Vernon and Petunia got what was coming to them, but he didn't actually think it was going to happen.

He couldn't help it, but he felt bad about Dudley. He was just as horrible as his parents had been…but he was the same age as Harry. He had his whole life ahead of him. It was just then he remembered that he had seen it.

He saw it in a dream…his uncle being tortured, Dudley being killed. Voldemort had used their connection to trick him into seeing what he'd wanted him to see once before. It had worked before, Voldemort would certainly try again.

He needed to be able to block his thoughts.

Harry quickly searched the Manor, in search of Malfoy. He wasn't in his bed room and after he checked the indoor pool areas, he finally found him sitting in the library, reading a book.

"Malfoy," he said, a little out of breath.

"Hmm?"

"Remember the other day when you offered to teach me Occlumency lessons?"

"Yeah," Draco responded, still staring at the book.

"Were you serious?"

Draco finally looked up at him, confusion written on his face.

"Yeah…I guess."

"I'll take you up on it…if the offer's still open."

"Okay." He said slowly as he felt a little awkward now. His offer was really an empty gesture; he didn't expect Potter to really take him up on it. "When do you want to start?"

"How about right now?"

"Now?"

Harry nodded.

"Alright." Draco said while closing his book and got up from his seat. "What's the rush?"

"I'll tell you later. So you want to do this in here?

"In here is fine, go close the doors." He instructed while taking out his wand.

Harry did so and when he turned around he saw that Malfoy had his wand pointed at him.

_"Legilimens!"_

Harry winced, and threw his hands up to grab his head. Malfoy hadn't given him any warning at all or any time to prepare himself. Memories immediately began to flood into his mind.

_Harry was about six years old, and Uncle Vernon had ordered him to make breakfast. He was brining __Dudley__ a plate full of eggs, when he tripped. The plate fell onto the floor breaking into pieces, and spilling scrambled eggs everywhere._

"_Boy! Can't you do anything right? How dare you ruin __Dudley__'s breakfast? Look at the mess you made!"_

"_Sorry Uncle Vernon, I didn't mean to."_

"_Just go back to the cupboard, and don't even think about coming out any time soon!"_

_"Yes sir," Harry responded, hanging his eyes and made his way to the cupboard under the stairs._

Draco broke the spell, and Harry lay gasping on the ground. He looked up and glared at Draco.

"You could have given me some warning," he growled.

However, Draco was still staring at him. What had he just seen? He thought that no matter where he went Potter was treated like a king. But from what he just saw, he looked like he was being treated like a house elf.

"Are you ready now?" Malfoy finally asked when Harry got back up.

Harry took a deep breath and tried to remember what Snape had told him. Discipline your mind…control your emotions.

"I'm ready." He finally said.

Malfoy pointed his wand.

_"Legilimens!"_

Draco at first didn't see anything and thought that Potter had successfully blocked his thoughts until he finally saw Harry at age eleven, sitting with the Sorting Hat on his head.

_"You would have done well in Slytherin…"_

Draco cancelled the spell and Harry opened his eyes to see Malfoy staring at him.

"What?" He asked, somewhat annoyed that the other boy was staring at him like some strange creature in a zoo.

"Slytherin?" He finally asked with a grin.

Harry smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, don't tell Ron."

"Like I'd ever speak with that Weasel willingly," he sneered.

Harry frowned and before he could tell Malfoy not to insult Ron, he spoke again.

"So, what? You found out The Dark Lord was from Slytherin and that's why you didn't want to be put there?"

"No…I guess I didn't want to be put there because you were there."

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Why's that?"

"Are you serious?" Harry asked.

The pale boy just narrowed his eyes in response as Harry continued to look at him, as it the answer was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You were acting like a stuck-up, arrogant prat when I met you. And remember what you said to Ron? You insulted the first person in the world who ever offered to be my friend right in front of me."

"He laughed at my name."

"So? That's your excuse for tormenting him?"

Draco looked down and shrugged one shoulder slightly.

"I was only eleven."

"So?"

"So, that was five years ago."

"You _still_ act like that!"

Draco looked up and met Harry's eyes with a hard gaze.

"Well, at least I don't walk around Hogwarts thinking that everybody owes me something because I'm "The Boy Who Lived." He mocked.

Harry then glared at him as Malfoy kept going.

"Look at me, I'm Harry Potter!" Malfoy said in high pitched tone. "Look at me! Pay more attention to me!"

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry ordered. "And stop saying that I love being known as the boy who lived. At least I'm not the most hated person at Hogwarts."

"I'd rather be hated than pitied."

Before they could argue anymore Malfoy put his wand away, and pushed past Harry out of the library.

"Forget it, find someone else to teach you Occlumency."

Harry sighed and shook his head as he watched him disappear. He couldn't believe that he and Malfoy were actually civil to each other only yesterday, just to go back to fighting again. He then thought back to what Narcissa had asked about him possibly starting over with Malfoy, to try to get along with him.

He shook his head, there was no way.


	11. A Mother's Request

XXXXXX

Storming his way out of the library and down the hall, Draco shook his head as he continued his way back to his bedroom. He couldn't believe that he had actually offered to teach Potter lessons in Occlumency the other day, even if he really didn't mean it. He must have been lightheaded or maybe the sun had gotten to him.

He also couldn't believe that he'd actually think this, but he couldn't wait until summer was over so he could go back to Hogwarts. Potter would be out of his house and he wouldn't have to worry about his mother bothering him about getting along with him.

Back in the library, Harry lightly bit his bottom lip as he continued walking around the room in laps. As he ran his finger along the sides of the books that there stacked on the shelves he sighed as he thought about what just happened.

For some reason, he couldn't help but feel a bit of disappointment about getting into yet another fight with Malfoy. Harry really didn't know why he felt that way, maybe because the two of them had actually gotten along the other day in the yard, but that wasn't it.

It was because he liked Narcissa. In many ways she had proven that she was nothing like her husband. He liked having a godmother and Malfoy was her son. Nothing could change that. She had asked him to try to get along with him but he didn't think they could do it, they were just too different. Too many years of bad feelings towards each other.

And if he couldn't get along with Malfoy, would that mean that he would have no relationship with Narcissa when the summer ended? Would he just have to forget about the fact that he had a godmother?

Harry exhaled deeply as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Right as he did that, Topsy walked in with a miniature sized broom he was cleaning with and saw his state.

"Master Potter." He began. "Are you alright?"

He looked up at the elf.

"I'm fine."

"Can I get you anything?"

"No. I just need to be alone right now."

"Yes master."

"Topsy." He said, getting the elfs attention as he put his glasses back on. "You can call me Harry, remember?"

Topsy bowed his head.

"Yes, Harry."

By this time Draco finally reached his room and when he walked in, sure enough his mother was in the room, sitting on his bed.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Looking for you." Narcissa answered and then noticed his angry expression. "What's wrong?"

"Potter." He spat. "Why does he have to be here? Why can't he stay with the Weasley's or anywhere but here?"

"What happened? I thought you two had settled things."

"No. We just acted like we did so you would get off my case."

Narcissa gave him a look as she slowly got to her feet.

"And why didn't you just work things out like I told the two of you?"

"Because I can't stand him!" Draco shouted. "He's a crazed, attention-seeking, muggle-loving,"

"Draco, enough!"

Just then, Harry had finally walked out of the library and down through the same hallway Draco had just walked and his brows furrowed when he heard the sound of shouting from the bedroom all the way down at the end. He carefully kept going down the hallway and reached the outside of the door so he could hear better what was being said.

"You don't know anything about Harry." Narcissa continued.

"What makes you think I _want_ to know him?"

"Because he's family."

"He is not." Draco growled. "Sirius Black was his family and he's dead now. He has no family."

Out in the hallway, Harry's jaw tightened as he had to stop himself from going inside the room and taking a swing at the other boy.

"You're wrong, Draco." Narcissa said. "How many times do I have to tell you that he's my godson? His mother asked me to take care of him."

"Yeah? So why did you wait until now?"

"Because your father isn't around."

"Yeah. Unfortunately. Can you imagine what he'd say if he could see what you are doing?"

Narcissa looked down and shook her head.

"Draco, you are not a child anymore, you're sixteen years old now. I think it's time for you to start looking at your father as a man, not as a god."

"What are you talking about? He's your husband!"

"I'm aware." Narcissa almost snapped. "But it doesn't change that I've accepted the fact that he's done terrible things over the years. You need to do the same."

After she said that, Draco stared at her for a moment before his eyes lowered and he quietly replied;

"It's not like he ever killed anyone."

"Of course he did." Narcissa almost laughed. "He didn't become the Dark Lord's most trusted Death Eater for no reason."

"Why are you talking like this?" Draco asked. "You sound like you never cared about father at all."

"Of course I cared about him. I just didn't like it when he tried to fill your head with his pure-blood mania. The same his parents and my parents did with us. That wasn't right."

"Yeah? You never said anything to him."

Narcissa sighed. Her son was right about that.

"I hate confrontations. In the family I grew up in I saw my sister disowned, my cousin disowned. I always did everything to avoid an argument or upsetting my parents."

Draco nodded a little. His mother always had been a bit of a push-over. It was the one thing about her that really irritated him. She never stood up for herself. If she and his father ever did end up in a arguement about something she was always the first to back down. Always.

"So what?" He began again. "You really don't think that purebloods are-"

"This isn't about me. Or your father or anyone else. This is about you. This is about who you are…who you're going to be."

They both just stood there for a few moments, not making eye contact or speaking. Finally, Narcissa broke the silence.

"I can't make you like Harry. All I'm asking you to do is to give him a chance, try to get along with him? Could you do that for me…please?"

Harry continued listening by the door, waiting for a response from the other boy. After a few moments of silence, finally Draco answered.

"Alright."

Harry's eyebrows raised in surprise, not expecting that answer. Back in the room, Narcissa smiled as she walked closer to her son and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you."

Draco made a face as he wiped his cheek.

"I can't promise anything, but I will try." He then said.

Narcissa nodded.

"That's all I ask."

Back in the hallway, Harry figured that the conversation was over and quickly moved away from the door and headed back down the hall to his room just as Narcissa walked out and headed towards the staircase not knowing that her godson was once standing outside and had heard every word that was said.


	12. Worth A Shot

XXXXXX

There were many stars in the sky on this late July night. Countless stars that were beautiful to look at. Harry stood outside in the backyard of the manor watching the sky with his broom in his hand, he hadn't ridden it in a while and felt like flying with it tonight.

Harry commanded it to the ground so he could step one leg over it without discomfort but it disobediently rose up to arm level again.

"Lower," he said authoritatively and it dropped at once.

He stepped one leg over so he could straddle it.

"Slowly rise," Harry said. It made a miniature ascent until he was sitting comfortable and his feet were off the ground. "Now _go."_

It instantly took off.

Harry smiled as he felt bliss and excitement when he soared into the air, everything that he had gone through over the past few months becoming a distant memory. He almost threw his head back and laughed into the clouds. Harry let his senses drop and enjoyed the feeling of the wind rushing through his hair, cooling his face with its gentle blows.

He flew upwards for about five minutes without stopping before seeing something that made him jerk his broom to a hasty stop. Someone rather.

Malfoy.

Harry hadn't seen the other boy since this morning after they fought with each other again in the library. He didn't see him at dinner either because Lorna had brought his food up to his room tonight and assumed Malfoy ate in his room as well.

As he continued watching him, Malfoy didn't turn his head around or even seem to sense that he was there. He was just sitting on his broom with his back to Harry, alone.

Harry didn't want to disturb him, just fly somewhere else and don't bother him, he thought to himself. But he didn't, he just stayed there for a while, hovering silently, watching Malfoy think.

He was so lost watching his actions, that he didn't have time to react when Malfoy turned his broom around without warning and almost flew right into him.

A hundred things to say flew into Harry's brain when they locked eyes on each other and he had almost settled on an awkward "Hi" until Malfoy spoke first.

"What are you doing up here?" Draco asked in a defensive tone.

Harry swallowed his original greeting.

"None of your business." He responded, then instantly regretted it. That sounded mature.

Draco simply rolled his eyes and turned his broom back around and prepared to fly away but Harry calling out after him stopped him from taking off.

"Malfoy, wait!" He yelled and flied in front of him.

"What?"

Harry sighed as his hand went up to his face and adjusted his glasses which had partially come off.

"About what happened this morning-"

"Forget about it Potter," Draco said with a wave of the hand but Harry continued anyway.

"I don't know what I expected to happen when I asked you about the lessons," he said. "I guess since we were actually getting along the other day-"

"Listen," Draco interrupted. "We're not going to forget about five years of fighting just by being civil to each other for a half an hour."

Harry nodded.

"I guess that's true."

Harry didn't know why they had fought again, why they couldn't just be civil to each other all the time. Maybe it's because their whole perceptions of each other were wrong. From what Malfoy had said, he really thought that Harry enjoyed the attention he got from being known as "The Boy Who Lived" when that couldn't be further from the truth.

"Why did you suddenly change your mind about the Occlumency lessons anyway?" Draco asked, jerking Harry out of his thoughts.

"Because I don't want Voldemort to be able to read my mind, or make me see things like he did before."

Harry noticed that Draco flinched a little after he said Voldemort's name before looking out at the clouds and speaking again.

"You were right about staying out of each other's way until school starts. It's only a little over a month away. I think we can make it."

"Well..." Harry began before shaking his head a little. He couldn't believe it. Why would he argue with that?

"What?"

"I mean...shouldn't we at least _try_ to get along? At least for your mother's sake? We are god-brothers after all, doesn't that mean anything?"

"It's strange."

"Believe me, I know."

Draco nodded as the two of them continued sitting on their brooms, high off the ground, the wind blowing past them, making their hair go everywhere. After a few more seconds of silence, Draco then continued the conversation as he remembered what he had promised his mother, and he would keep his promise.

"If you want to continue the lessons, I'll teach you."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"Uhh...sure. If you don't mind."

"I'm the one who's offering."

"Right." Harry then smiled. "Look at this, we're getting along again."

Smirking as well, Draco responded;

"I noticed."

"Maybe we should start over...from the very beginning. We really don't know anything about each other. Maybe if we did we would get along a little better."

"Sure I know about you. You're the boy who lived." Draco said in an almost mocking tone that made Harry narrow his eyes.

"That's the problem. You think I love this attention I get from being that. I hate it, Malfoy. I wish I could get rid of it."

"Oh please."

"I do."

"Why would you hate having your own personal fan club?"

"I'll tell you...if you're willing to listen."

Draco snorted a little as he lifted his chin but Harry continued.

"But it's a two way street. I'm sure there's more to you than what most people think."

"And what do 'most people' think?"

"That you're a rich, pureblood snob."

The other boy rolled his eyes before responding.

"Do you really think I care about what other's think about me?"

"I don't know…do you?"

Draco didn't respond as he just took a deep breath before saying;

"So...start over huh? Where do we begin?"

At this, Harry's face broke out into a slight smile. He then took one hand off his broom and grabbed Draco's hand, taking it in his own and began shaking it.

"Hello, my name is Harry Potter. What is yours?"

"Hello, _Harry_. My name is Draco Malfoy."

"Nice to meet you, _Draco_."

"Nice to meet you too."

The two of them grinned at each other as they continued to shake hands for a few moments before letting go of their grip.

They couldn't guarantee that they would never fight again, or that trying to move on from the past five years would be easy, or that they even wouldn't go back to hating each other in the end, but Harry thought that it was worth a shot.

Maybe they could be friends...maybe if it really went well they could truly be family.


	13. Room In Your Mind

XXXXXX

Darkness and confusion. Memories flashed before Harry's eyes like stills from a black and white film. His heart thudded under his chest. Where was he? What was he suppose to do again?

"_Clear your mind!" _A harsh voice scolded him.

Draco then cancelled the spell and Harry fell backwards into the armchair inside the library. Harry sighed and took off his glasses, running his hand over his face in frustration. Why couldn't he block his thoughts from Draco? Why couldn't he get this?

"Come on Pot-, uh, Harry," Draco corrected himself. "At least _try_ to block me out."

"I _am_ trying," he snapped.

"Come on, clear your mind. Have an empty head. Now I know what you're thinking, how can you have an empty head and not be Ron Weasley?"

Draco then started laughing at his own joke as Harry narrowed his eyes.

"Insulting my friends isn't going to help us get along."

"Fine," Draco said between laughs before starting to pace a little and then spoke again. He wanted to help Harry get this but there wasn't much to explain really. To him, it was simple. "To clear your mind, you have to focus, understand?"

Harry sighed deeply, he had heard all this before from Snape and it didn't help at all. Draco then held out his arms as he waited for a response.

"Did you hear me?"

"_How_? How do you focus?"

"I don't know how you focus, you just focus."

After about several minutes Harry prepared himself as Draco pointed his wand at him again.

_"Legilimens!"_

"_Hurry up, boy! I have a very important reception this evening and that car better be spotless and sparkling by __five o'clock__ or you can forget about supper!" Uncle __Vernon__ bellowed as he pushed Harry out of the front door none too gently, and Harry tripped and fell, scraping his knee. _

Harry tugged and pulled, trying to wrestle the memory back with all his strength, but the intruder was too strong, he did not stand a chance. He fought to no avail, it seemed that the harder he fought, the harder the force fought back. He growled with frustration, feeling utterly helpless.

Suddenly, the presence was gone and the memory hurled back at him...sending him head over heels.

After Harry had again failed to block his thoughts, the two of them took another break. Another few minutes went by and Draco sighed and got ready again. Now he was the one who was starting to get frustrated.

"Okay, clear all the thoughts from your mind until it's completely blank. I would think that it would be easy for you."

"If you are just going to insult me, let's just end this now." Harry snapped.

With the amount of frustration he was feeling, Harry was in no mood to deal with any cheap-shots or jokes from Draco.

"I'm insulting your lack of focus." Draco responded. "This is all much simpler than you're making it out to be."

"Like you could do any better?"

Draco raised an eyebrow as he then stood straight, getting himself ready.

"Try it on me." He responded.

"What?"

"Go ahead."

Harry looked at him for a moment before taking out his wand and raising it towards Draco.

_"Legilimens!"_

He sent out the spell to search his god-brother's thoughts but as hard as he tried to read his mind, to see his memories he saw blackness…nothing. When it ended Draco was smirking at him.

"How did you do that?" Harry sighed.

"You're too emotional. You have to stop thinking about everything. Take that fear, that guilt, being angry, shut it down. And even with that, you won't be able to block your thoughts from me unless you _want_ to block your thoughts."

Harry gaped at him.

"Are you joking? I do want to block my thoughts."

"No you don't. I think you're scared." Draco shrugged.

Narrowing his eyes, Harry straightened himself up as he took a step towards the taller boy. That was one thing he certainly wasn't going to let him get away with. However, when he saw Harry's reaction, Draco quickly explained himself.

"I don't blame you." He began. "The Dark Lord's been trying to kill you since you've been born, one year after another having to deal with his plans. I'd be ready to quit too if I were you."

"Oh, so you think that Voldemort should have killed me?"

"That's not what I said!" Draco snapped. He then exhaled heavily as he took a seat in one of the arm chairs. After a few moments Harry slowly walked over and sat down in the chair next to his.

"Look." Harry started. "I had to take lessons for weeks with Snape. He never tried to help me, all he did was insult me every time I wasn't able to block my thoughts. Don't you have any advice at all?"

Simply telling him to focus wasn't helping, he needed something more. Draco rubbed his chin as he tried to think. Occlumency was easy for him, he couldn't understand why his god-brother was having such a hard time.

"Alright." He finally began. "Why don't you think of some nice memory? Like...your mother?"

"Uh…" Harry thought. "I never really knew my mother."

"You don't have any memories from when you were little?"

"What do you remember from when you were only a year old?" Harry shot back, a little defensive.

"French lessons." Draco smirked.

That caused a small laugh from Harry as Draco continued to think of ways of helping him finally be able to get this. He then thought about what Harry had just said, about not really knowing his mother. While he might have some good memories, Harry certainly had more bad ones. That could be the reason for why Occlumency was hard for him.

"Alright, why don't we try this," Draco began again. "Find a secure place inside your mind. Keep all your memories in this place, it's like a barrier to keep other people out, keep your memories protected in this room."

"Okay." Harry responded.

Getting up from the chairs, they walked to opposite ends of the room and faced each other. Harry closed his eyes and began thinking about a room.

A room.

That was simple enough. A room where all his memories where safe from everything or anyone. A few moments went by before he heard Draco's voice.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

_"Yes."_

Draco pointed his wand at him and yelled out the spell but Harry had prepared himself this time. He _wanted_ to block his thoughts as he pictured himself in a room. He was safe from everyone here. Harry was safe in _his _room; no one could get to him while he was there. But then the calmness in the room was rattled as something shook the room slightly. It kept shaking for a little while longer before it finally stopped and the room was suddenly calm again.

Harry slowly opened his eyes to see that Draco was staring at him and he looked rather pleased.

"That was a lot better."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I didn't see a thing."

"I did it?" Harry asked.

Draco couldn't hold back a grin from his face.

"I guess you did."

Harry sighed in relief, feeling a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had finally done it. He tried to calm his glee which bubbled in his gut just waiting to be let out. Subduing it was almost painful but Harry managed.

"You found a safe place and managed to stay there long enough so that any amateur Legimens would have already backed down," Draco said as he walked up next to Harry. "But you still need more practice."

Harry nodded.

"But very good uh…Harry." Draco said as he raised his hand and awkwardly patted his shoulder.

Harry couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you, Draco."

Draco nodded as the two of them began walking out of the library. They headed down the long hallway, now talking as they planned on going to the kitchen. But unknown to them, Narcissa had watched them walking side by side from the other end of the hallway and smiled to herself before going back to her bedroom.


	14. Questions and Answers

XXXXXX

Harry took the elevator downstairs the next morning and headed to the dining room for breakfast. After dinner last night, he had stayed out with Draco until midnight, flying their brooms off into the sky, watching the stars. It was peaceful activity, took his mind off a lot of things. They didn't really talk all that much but just being around each other without conflict was enough.

He walked into the dining room to see Draco sitting at the long table, eating some kind of fruit plate.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hey," Draco said back, his eyes staying focused on his plate. Just then, Lorna walked out of the door that connected to the kitchen and saw him.

"Good morning Harry, would you like anything?"

"Um, I would like a cranberry muffin please."

The house elf nodded as Harry walked over to the table, instead of going to sit across from Draco, he sat down next to him.

"Sleep well?" Harry asked innocently, traces of a grin pulling at his lips.

Draco rolled his eyes incredulously in his direction at that, and he held back a smile himself as he remember how late the two of them were out.

"Oh, like a rock."

"Good," he responded as Lorna came back into the room and sat his muffin down. "Do you want to do something today?"

"Not particularly, no," Draco responded lazily.

Harry smiled a little.

"You know Draco, you don't have to talk to me only at night, you know."

"I don't have to talk to you at all," the pale boy pointed out.

"No…but I'm glad you are."

"I'm sure you are…maybe we'll go flying later today."

Harry nodded and they remained silent for a few moments as he ate before he decided to bring something up.

"I didn't have any nightmares last night."

Draco nodded.

"That's good."

"I like taking Occlumency lessons from you instead of Professor Snape."

"Severus isn't that bad." He defended "And remember I'm only an amateur. You should probably ask him to start teaching you again when we go back to Hogwarts."

Harry knew that was true, but he really didn't want to ever have to take Occlumency lessons from Snape ever again…especially after what happened on their last lesson. Snape just disliked him so much now probably more than ever. They both ate quietly for a few minutes before Draco spoke up again.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Harry nodded, hiding his surprise.

"Go ahead."

"Why did I keep seeing glimces of this fat guy yelling at you in your thoughts in your first session? Who is he?"

Harry sighed.

"He's my Uncle Vernon, I couldn't help it but I guess my relatives were just of my mind during that lesson."

"Why?"

"Didn't your mother tell you?"

"No."

"Well, they were killed a few days ago."

"Oh. Well…good." Draco responded

"Good?"

"Yeah, after the way they treated you, you should be happy they're dead."

Harry looked at Draco in surprise after he said that before staring down at his food. He knew he didn't have any nice memories of the Dursleys, because they didn't give him any. They hated him, always have. But despite that, they didn't deserve to die in such a horrible way…especially Dudley.

"Even though they were horrible to me, they didn't deserve to die." He finally responded.

"Whatever."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the other boy.

"You do know that murder is bad, right?"

"I'm not stupid," Draco sneered. "But what's the harm in killing a few muggles? It's not that much of a loss."

"Muggles are people too, you know." Harry frowned. How could Draco be so comfortable about the idea of muggles dying? He himself didn't think he'd ever be able to take someone's life, apart from Lord Voldemort.

"Do you really think you could kill someone?" He didn't mean to ask that, it just sort of came out.

"Of course." Draco said honestly and then faced his god-brother, "Where'd that come from?"

"It's just, how could you really be that comfortable with taking someone's life?" Harry knew he this would definitely make him angry, but he couldn't help himself.

The Slytherin glared at him.

"I'm not comfortable with it, but I can do it if I have to…now drop it."

"Have you ever killed anyone before?" He couldn't handle the curiosity any longer.

Draco clenched his mouth shut as he felt the other boy's eyes on him.

"No…but I could do it if I had to."

"And just how many people? How many lives would you take? One? Two? How about ten? How many people, Draco? Give me a number."

Draco then sighed in frustration as he moved a little in his seat, it looked like he just wanted to get up and leave the room but something kept him there.

"I just don't understand. Why do you hate muggles so much?" Harry suddenly asked while shaking his head. He didn't understand it at all. "It seems you hate them just because they exist."

Draco smirked.

"It's human nature to hate. It's never going to go away. Despite what you may think there are real reasons why the Dark Lord's philosophy appeals to other wizards."

"Even though he is a half-blood himself," Harry scoffed.

"Well, that's the thing about hate," Draco pointed out, his voice a little quieter. "It's irrational."

Their heated conversation finally came to an end as they now sat in silence. Harry then looked up at the ceiling. Why was he trying to defend muggles? If anyone ought to hate muggles it was him, from the way he was treated by his aunt and uncle over the years…but he didn't. Maybe it's because he learned from all those years of living with them what it was like to be hated for something you are, something you can't help being.

Draco finally finished up and got up from his seat, pushing his chair in.

"Have a nice day, Potter." He said.

"Don't call me Potter," Harry responded while looking up at him.

Draco didn't respond as he walked out of room and Harry sighed and stared down at the table.

Two steps forward, one step back he thought as he finally got himself to eat. Just then Narcissa walked out of the door that led to the kitchen, looking a little frustrated as she took a seat.

"Good morning." She greeted.

"Morning." Harry said as he noticed her expression. "Did you hear any of that?"

"Unfortunately." She sighed. "He still has a lot of his father in him."

Harry didn't respond as he continued to eat, it was little uncomfortable now with his godmother here at the table and having heard what he and Draco had talked about.

Narcissa in the meantime was thinking of a way to show her son that he needed to change his ways. She then began remembering the Black family tree as an idea slowly came to her mind. Not only would that be a good example for Draco, it was something that was long overdo.


	15. Estranged Siblings

XXXXXX

Harry had spent the rest of the day by himself after his heated conversation with Draco. Even though they were both making an effort to get along with each other that didn't mean they needed to be around one another every second of the day and some time away from each other was probably needed right now.

But at the moment he was letting his feet guide him through the second floor of the manor until he reached an open door with the light on.

Curiously, Harry walked inside and was in immediate awe of the room. It was bigger than his room, the floor was blue colored marble and the walls were medium blue. A high bookshelf stood in the north corner of the room next to a desk that was carved out of mahogany wood.

In the center of the room stood a king size bed with dark blue satin bedding and a fireplace close to it. At that moment Harry guessed that this was Draco's room and this was the first time he was in it. Just then, his god-brother than exited the bathroom wearing a white fur-coat that went all the way down to his knees. He didn't seem to notice the other boy as he went to a giant mirror in the room to look at himself.

"Hey." Harry spoke, getting his attention.

"Oh, hey." Draco responded, momentarily looking at him before seeing how he looked.

Harry walked further in and saw a long wooden box next to the bed. Inside was a black fur coat, a tan one, and a black and grey mixed one.

"Fur coats in the summer?" Harry questioned.

"I ordered suits but I guess they got it mixed up." Draco responded as he took it off and placed it on the bed as then picked up the black one out of the box. "I'm not sending them back though. It's too much trouble, plus winter will be here before you know it."

Harry then turned his head to look at the paper taped to the side of the box and saw that it had been delivered here from Sweden. He then shook his head a little as he had to fight back feelings of envy that the other boy could afford this, even if he would never wear a fur coat himself.

Draco then turned back to his god-brother and looked him over.

"You've got to get some new clothes. Is that the only shirt you've got?"

Ever since he'd arrived, all Draco had seen Harry in was the same white shirt with a black ring around the collar that was it. Harry then shrugged.

"My relatives weren't that keen on buying me things."

"Why don't we go to Diagon Alley tomorrow? I'll get you some things."

"Really?" Harry asked, surprised by the offer.

"Yeah. If you're going to be traipsing around my house for the remainder of the summer you're going to look respectable."

"You think that's a good idea? You know people will see us together."

Draco's eyes then went to the side as he thought about that. The two of them were fairly well known in the wizarding community, especially Harry for obvious reasons. It would be news if people saw them together, getting along. It could get picked up by the press, kids and teachers from Hogwarts would find out about it, how would they react?

It was also something to think about once school started again.

"Uh…" Draco finally began as he now second guessed himself about the idea. "Why don't I just order you some things?"

"It's okay." Harry shook his head as he could see that Draco now regretted his offer. "You don't have to."

"Are you sure?"

Harry nodded.

"Alright."

As Draco went back to trying on his new clothes Harry slowly backed out of the room, staring at him before finally turning away. He then realized there was yet another obstacle in becoming friendly with each other.

Everybody else.

His friends, Draco's friends, the other kids in Hogwarts…how would they react when they finally found out? They couldn't keep this a secret forever.

Sighing heavily, Harry continued on until he reach his bedroom and closed the door behind him and walked over to take a seat on the bed.

Meanwhile in downtown London, Narcissa took a deep breath as she finally reached the flat that she had been told the person that she needed to see was staying at. She just stood in the hallway, staring at the door as she mentally told herself that she could do this. Biting her bottom lip slightly, Narcissa continued on as she walked up to the door and stalled for a moment before finally knocking.

She swallowed nervously as she heard movement from behind the door. Her heart rate picked up as the door slightly opened and she was now staring at her estranged older sister, Andromeda Black.

To say the other woman looked surprised was an understatement. The two of them just stared at each other for a moment before she spoke.

"Narcissa?"

"Hello, Andromeda." She smiled a little. "It's been a long time."

"What are you doing here?"

"If you could just let me in for a few minutes I just want to talk."

"Talk?" Andromeda almost scoffed. "We don't have anything to say to each other."

"Of course we do. We're family."

"Since when?"

Andromeda remembered her sister's words to her when she was packing up her things at the house the day her parents had disowned her. She had tried to talk to her but Narcissa simply replied 'You don't live here anymore' and turned away.

She was about to close the door when Narcissa's voice stopped her.

"I'm here to make peace, Andromeda. If you could just give me a few minutes."

Sighing to herself, Andromeda finally opened the door further to let her sister in. There was something in her voice that she couldn't turn away. Grateful, Narcissa stepped inside and looked around.

"You have a nice home."

"Thank you." She shrugged as she led her to the living room and they sat down across from each other. Now that her sister's eyes were on her, Narcissa didn't know where to start.

This was a lot harder than even she thought it would be. That hadn't seen each other in nearly twenty years, what could she say about this?

"How have you been?" Narcissa finally asked.

"Why are you here Narcissia?" Andromeda responded, ignoring the question. "What do you want?"

"I just…because you're my sister and I just wanted to see you."

"Why?" Andromeda asked again. "Why now? After all these years you finally remembered that I exist?"

"Because Lucius is gone and I have a fresh start."

Andromeda stared at her sister knowing what she was talking about. She knew that she had married Lucius Malfoy in a pre-arranged marriage and he was recently arrested and placed in Azkaban. She then spoke again;

"I never thought you really believed in the whole pure blood thing. Not like how Bellatrix did anyway."

"Why is that?"

"You don't have the dark mark on your arm."

Narcissa then looked down at her wrist. Her sister was right about that. Andromeda then lowered her head for a moment before leaning back in the chair and looking back up, looking her younger sister in the eye.

"Alright, you want to talk? Let's talk."

Her younger sister nodded.

"I really don't even know where to start."

"How about at the beginning?"

Taking a deep breath, Narcissa began thinking about how to begin her story. About how she felt when Andromeda was disowned, about her marriage, her son, and her new beginning now that Lucius was gone.


	16. Use to You

XXXXXX

"I was so scared after you were disowned. I guess after that, I fell right in line. I did whatever mother and father wanted, thought how they wanted me to think. Anything…anything to avoid getting in trouble."

Andromeda continued to stare at her younger sister as Narcissa went on about how she felt about the whole situation.

"I couldn't end up like that…with no family, no house, no money. I just couldn't risk it. I guess I'm not as brave as you are-"

"Wait." Andromeda interrupted. "You really think it was that easy? Facing mom and dad when they found out? It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do, don't ever doubt it."

"How did you get through it?" Narcissa asked.

"I just had to keep telling myself that this was the right thing to do. I was in love and it didn't matter to me that Ted was a muggle-born wizard and it was then did I realize that mom and dad were wrong about things. It may sound stupid, but love will make you do anything."

"It doesn't sound stupid."

The two of them then smiled at each other before Narcissa leaned forward to look at a picture of a young girl on the coffee table.

"Is this your daughter?"

"Yes." Andromeda smiled. "Nymphadora. She hates her name though, she prefers to go by 'Tonks.'

Narcissa continued to smile as she stared at the niece she never got to know. Andromeda then spoke again.

"What about you? Do you have a picture of Draco?"

"Not on me right now. Sorry."

"It's okay. Does he look like you?"

"He more resembles his father." Narcissa then sighed a little. "He acts a bit like him too."

Andromeda didn't respond as she knew what her sister meant. She might have never met him but she had heard all about Lucius Malfoy and his feelings about blood in the world of wizardry.

"Which is partly why I'm here. I want Draco to see that it doesn't matter, pureblood, half-blood, muggle-born, It doesn't matter. I want him to know that my sister married a muggle-born wizard and that I still consider her part of the family."

Narcissa then looked her right in the eye.

"And that I want her to consider me her sister again."

A smile appeared on Andromeda's face as she looked down for a moment before looking back up at Narcissa.

"I really hoped this would happen one day. I really thought that it would. You were different from us all. Sirius and I didn't believe in what our parents told us and we paid for it. Bellatrix and Regulus did so much that they became Death Eaters. But you, while you still listened to it you never went as far as they did."

Narcissa nodded.

"I know. I'm glad I didn't go that far."

She then looked over at the clock and saw that it was approaching eight o'clock at night.

"Oh, it's getting late."

"Yes." Andromeda realized. "Ted will be home soon."

They both got to their feet.

"Listen, I would love to have you and Ted over for dinner sometime."

"I would like that too."

"What about tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow?" Andromeda asked, surprised at how soon she wanted to see her again.

"If you're free."

"Yes, we're free. I guess I'll see you at-"

"How about five o'clock?"

"We'll be there."

Then, despite years of separation and estrangement Narcissa and Andromeda reached out and hugged each other.

"It was really nice to see you again." Narcissa began.

"It was nice to see you too."

Andromeda then walked her sister out as Narcissa took a deep breath, the weight of this whole thing had not only been lifted off her shoulders, but she had her sister back. Outside in the hallway, she continued to walk as she realized there was one last thing she needed to do in order to separate herself from the old ways completely.

XXXXXX

However, back at the manor when Draco was told by Topsy that his mother had not been seen ever since breakfast he began searching all over for her. Once Harry realized what was going on he joined him in trying to find her.

"Where the hell is she?" Draco finally asked once they got done searching the forth floor and finding nothing.

Harry didn't respond as Draco continued walking until he reached a small staircase that would take them up to the roof. Upon getting up there they were greeted by the sight of the infinity pool but no one was using it.

Draco swore under his breath as that was the last place to look and she wasn't there. Harry continued looking over the pool, seeing that clear water and that it was a little smaller than the other pools at the manor. He guessed that this was more for a couple to use than anything else.

"Look I don't think you should worry-" Harry began.

"I'm not worried." Draco snapped. "It's just that…she's never gone for this long."

He then sighed heavily as he looked up at the sky. He then noticed Harry looking over the pool and grinned a little as an idea came to him and all thoughts of his mother were momentarily pushed out of his mind. Closing the distance between them, Draco reached out and pushed Harry over the edge causing him to yell out before falling into the pool with a splash.

Sputtering as he came up, Harry looked around widely as Draco laughed at him.

"How's the water?"

Honesty, it wasn't that bad. It was much warmer then he expected it to be. He then narrowed his eyes at Draco, not seriously however. If pushing him into the pool took his mind of his mother than so be it. He then wondered why he wasn't as worried as much as Draco was.

"Hello?" Draco then called out. "Have you got water in your ears?"

"Ha, ha. Help me out."

Harry reached out his hand as Draco rolled his eyes and took it, only to have Harry grab onto his wrist with the other hand and pull him in. Quickly lifting his head out of the water with his whitish blonde hair stuck to the front of his face before brushing it away, Draco lunged for Harry and yanked him under for a few seconds before letting him go.

Once Harry wiped the water from his eyes and looked over at his god-brother he saw that he wasn't angry, that he had a smile on his face. It was a side to Draco that he hadn't really seen before. He looked really happy, and it wasn't due to someone else's expense like at Hogwarts.

"You know." Draco began. "I've spent more time with you at my house over the past few weeks than anyone else in my life."

"Haven't Crabbe and Goyle been over here?"

Draco almost laughed.

"Those two hanger-ons? Please, I don't keep in touch with them. I only see them at school, that's it."

"What about Pansy?"

"She hasn't been over here either. I like being alone."

"You spend too much time alone." Harry responded as he actually began to feel sorry for his god-brother. He had really never had a guest over in his whole life? Ever?

"Yeah? You can't actually tell me you like Weasley and Granger being attached to you twenty-four seven."

"Believe it or not, we do have our own lives, we're not around each other every second of the day."

Draco rolled his eyes as if to say 'yeah right' as Harry continued.

"Plus, when you're alone for eleven years it feels good to be around others for a change."

Harry then placed his hands on the side of the pool and lifted himself out so he was sitting on the edge. Draco did the same as it was just their feet in the water now as they let themselves dry off.

"I think we've gotten along real well over the last week." Harry began. "Don't you?"

"You're still a pain, _Potter_." Draco responded.

Harry's brows furrowed for a second, not expecting that response. But Draco then smirked a little as then playfully hit his arm.

"But I think I've gotten use to you."

"Thanks, _Malfoy_."

"Don't mention it."

The two of them laughed a little as they then got up and headed back inside the house to see if Narcissa had arrived back during their time on the roof.


	17. Before You Judge

XXXXXX

After they left the roof, Harry and Draco headed to the main foyer of the manor where they found Narcissa returning from her meeting with her sister. She didn't tell them where she had been, she simply told Draco to be ready for dinner around six o'clock tomorrow night.

She then pulled Harry aside and told him she had planned dinner for her, Draco and her estranged sister. She then told him she felt bad for leaving him out but this needed to be a private thing. Narcissa then explained to him the whole situation of where she went and Harry immediately understood.

He really didn't know what she hoped to accomplish as far as Draco was concerned but he was happy to find out that she had visited her estranged sister in attempt to reconcile. It was yet another moment that told Harry that his godmother really was different from her husband.

When the night arrived Draco was finishing getting dressed in a tan suit with a white collared shirt when Harry carefully poked his head in and watched him for a moment before speaking;

"You ready for tonight?"

"Not really." Draco mumbled as he straightened his tie. "I don't like these dinner parties."

He never had, all the way back to when he could remember them when he was just five years old. They had people over all the time for events, it was really annoying. He didn't understand the obsession with inviting people over and serving them food.

"I don't know why she isn't letting you eat with us." Draco continued as he turned to face him. "For once I think I could use you around."

"Your mother told me it's kind of a private thing. I understand that."

"I wonder who it is." Draco said as he walked out the room, Harry following him down the hall.

"Maybe a neighbor." Harry responded, not wanting to tell him. He couldn't actually, remembering his promise to Narcissa not to say a word.

Draco then groaned at the thought and Harry rolled his eyes.

"What? You're acting like your mother invited a thief in-"

"I rather deal with thieves than neighbors. Thieves want your things, neighbors want your time. I rather give them things then time."

Harry couldn't help but smile a little in amusement as he stopped and Draco continued on down the long staircase. As he went to the smaller dining room on the first floor, Narcissa was waiting by the front door when the bell finally rung.

A small smile appeared on her face as she walked forward and opened it. Andromeda was standing on the other side wearing her best black dress as she looked at her younger sister and smiled back.

"Oh." Narcissa said as she realized her sister was alone. "I thought your husband was coming too."

"I didn't think it was a good idea yet." Andromeda responded.

After her sister gave her a look she sighed a little and followed with;

"I think we still have some things to work out before we can sit down like a happy family."

"That's fine. It can just be the two of us with Draco."

"Your son? You really think that's a good idea?"

"You wanted to meet him didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Well, now's just as good a time as any."

Narcissa led the way as Andromeda had a not so sure look on her face as she continued to look around her surroundings, in slight awe of the magnitude of the house.

In the meantime, Draco was sitting at the table taking a sip of red wine that Topsy had just poured into the glass when the two women walked in. Andromeda looked around the room, the walls were painted white, the carpeting was white and a fireplace was in the corner of the room. A small table in the middle, big enough to fit four people and a candle was lit in the center as two house elfs placed several plates of pasta on the table.

"Mother." Draco greeted before looking at the other woman. "Who is this?"

"Draco." Narcissa responded as she moved to sit down next to him so her sister could sit across from them. "Meet your Aunt Andromeda."

"Hello." Andromeda responded as she carefully took a seat. "Your mother has told me a lot about you. It's nice to finally meet you."

However Draco didn't respond as he continued staring at her before turning his head towards his mother.

"Aunt?"

"Yes."

"Excuse me." Draco said as he got up and headed for the door. Andromeda looked at her sister with an expression that said 'I knew this would happen' as Narcissa quickly got up and followed her son out into the hall.

"Draco, what are you doing?" She demanded in a harsh whisper. "Get back in here."

"Mother, I did what you asked when you wanted me to try to get along with Harry, but now you're going too far."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't give me that. I remember father talking about her once. I know that your sister was disowned for marrying a muggle born. What is she doing here?"

"She's here because she's my sister."

"That's nice. But I don't want to anything to do with her."

From the next room, Harry was carefully listening in. He couldn't help it but his curiosity got the better of him and he wanted to hear what was being said in the dining room and from the sound of things, it wasn't going well at all. He couldn't help but sigh quietly to himself when he heard Draco talk. He still had a lot of hate in him, it was going to take a lot for him to let go of the views of pureblood superiority his father had installed in him.

"Then go tell her that." Narcissa challenged. "Go in there and tell your Aunt that you don't want to have dinner with her because of who she married."

Draco raised his chin for as he continued to stare at his mother with a hard glare which his mother returned before he finally broke it and started shaking his head while looking down.

"Why are you doing his?" He asked quietly.

"For you!" She almost snapped. "So you can see that it doesn't matter who she fell in love with, she's still your Aunt. Why don't you see that? Why don't you at least talk to her for five minutes before you judge her?"

"It doesn't matter huh? What about me? What if I fell in love with another man? How would you feel about that?"

"As long as you were happy, I wouldn't care."

"Happy." Draco muttered sarcastically.

"Yes. That's all I want, for you to be happy. You can't be happy still trying to think like your father does, I know you're not."

He didn't respond as he couldn't meet her stare.

"I'm going back in to be with my sister, you can do what you want."

Her son continued to look down as Narcissa decided to break the final news.

"Tomorrow I'm going to file for a divorce from your father."

Draco's head then shot up as he looked at her with wide eyes as she sighed a little and turned back into the dining room. Harry continued to listen in just when Omega walked in and began heading towards him.

Harry looked down at the dog as he began sniffing him and playfully nipped at his hand.

"No." Harry whispered. "Go away."

The dog then started barking causing Draco's eyebrows to furrow. He walked into the next room to see the other boy up against the wall, apparently eavesdropping. Harry looked over and saw Draco staring at him, the look of annoyance on his face almost caused him to laugh.

"Jesus, Potter what are you five years old?"

Draco then turned to head back to the dining room. He placed his hand on the door for a moment before making himself push it open and head back inside as Harry playfully glared down at the dog before shaking his head and beginning to pet Omega's head.

"Good job, you got me caught."

He then stepped out into the hallway and looked at the dining room door. He could hear the sound of three voices coming from inside, talking calmly. He hoped that things went well, that this could be the start of Draco starting to see things differently. All he could do was wait until morning.


	18. Calm Before the Storm

XXXXXX

Draco really didn't know what to expect the next day after his mother told him that she was filing for a divorce from his father but when the edition of the Daily Prophet arrived it was right there on the front page.

'Narcissa Malfoy files for divorce from Death Eater husband.'

He was sitting outside on the patio by the pool, Harry was sitting there with him as they had eaten breakfast there. He was watching him with curious eyes before looking down at the paper himself.

"Are you okay?" Harry finally asked.

The blonde boy shrugged one in response, not really knowing how to answer as he placed the paper down before picking up his glass of orange juice.

"It says that my mother is taking back her maiden name, Black." Draco said before taking a drink.

"Are you?"

"I don't know."

"Draco Black." Harry smiled a little. "Sounds like a cool name."

Again, Draco didn't respond as he just continued to eat his food quietly. Harry then did the same, part of him wanted to leave his god brother alone but another part knew that he needed to talk to someone about this. What had just happened was going to be yet another major change in his life.

"So, did everything go alright last night? With your aunt?"

"What, didn't you keep listening in the next room?"

"No. And I'm sorry about that, I just wanted to…"

Harry trailed off as he really didn't know why he resorted to eavesdropping on them last night. If he had to think of an answer he just wanted to be sure that Draco stayed in the room and not leave, like he tried to before Narcissa stopped him.

"Everything went okay." Draco answered. "She's real nice."

The other boy nodded in return. He then had to ask the next question, he needed to know even if he wasn't sure how Draco was going to react to it.

"So…do you still feel the same? About muggle-born wizards and witches?"

Draco avoided eye contract as he moved his hand around the top of his glass as he thought about it.

"I don't know…I'm just really confused right now."

Harry understood that as well. Draco was now having to second guess everything that he had believed in, everything that he'd been taught by his father. He just hoped that he would change his views on things. Change always happened slowly, he just hoped that Draco just needed more time. As they continued to eat, suddenly Lorna came walking over to them with two letters in her hand.

"Your schedules from Hogwarts have arrived." She announced as she handed the letters to them.

"Thank you." Harry responded as he opened his. In all that had been going on here he had actually forgotten that school started up again in a week.

After Harry got done looking his over, Draco took it and began examining it with his own.

"It seems-" Draco started slowly, "that we have Potions and Care of Magical Creatures together, and we are also in the same Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration classes."

He glanced over at Harry, looking like he was trying to read the other teenager's expression. Harry merely nodded, unsure of how to feel about this. He and Draco had become…Harry wasn't quite sure what he should call it –was it friendship they had come to share?

They had, at any rate, gotten to know each other better, but Harry wasn't sure that sharing four classes with Draco was something he was genuinely happy about. For all Harry knew, it could prove to be a great thing, but it could also prove to be a disaster.

"I can imagine you aren't thrilled at the prospect of seeing me that often-" Draco started, looking grim, but Harry cut him off.

"It's not that," he said quickly. "I'm just afraid that we're going to end up jumping down each others throats, spending that much time together. I don't need to be fighting with you again, on top of everything else."

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we got through the summer without killing each other didn't we?"

Harry nodded.

"Yes," he said quietly. "But here is different. It's only the two of us here. Our opinions are still very different, and our ways of reacting to things are different, and our way of-" Harry hesitated for a moment. "–Our way of treating people is very different."

Draco frowned deeply, not looking at all pleased with this statement.

"I can be civilized, if that's what you mean, Pott…Harry," he responded. "I thought I had proven that to you."

Harry felt bad now, looking the other boy in the eye and seeing his angry expression. What Draco said was true; they still got in occasional disagreements and small arguments ever now and then but other than that they had gotten along extremely well over the past few weeks.

"I'm sorry," Harry finally said. "You're right. I guess it'll be fine."

Later that night, after dinner Harry was sitting in his chair just staring at his empty plate with a lot on his mind. He was thinking about when it was time to go back to Hogwarts. And while he was happy he going to get to see his friends again, he knew they were going to want to know why he never showed up to stay at the Burrow like he usually did during the summer. He didn't know how they would react if he told them he was staying at the Malfoy Manor, and that Narcissa and Draco were technically his family now.

Narcissa looked at Harry and saw that her godson was starting off into space.

"Is something troubling you, Harry?" She asked.

Harry shrugged.

"It's nothing, it's just that my friends I've been writing to are going to want to know where I was over the summer. And Dumbledore asked me not to tell anyone."

"What are their names?"

"Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger."

"Do you trust these friends of yours?"

Harry nodded.

"Of course."

"Then you may tell them. Unless you are ashamed of where you've been staying?"

"I'm not ashamed," Harry declared. "First chance I get, I'll tell them."

Narcissa smiled.

"You're not a Hufflepuff, Harry, there's no need to be so demonstratively loyal to me. I won't mind whom you tell, and when. You've said yourself how important your friends are to you, why would they get upset over this?"

"If they have an ounce of sense, they'll be glad I finally have a...uh, someone to take care of me. Not that I can't take care of myself, because I can." Harry rambled. Realizing how mixed-up he sounded, Harry decided the smartest thing he could do was just shut up.

Narcissa got up from her seat and Topsy came along and took her dishes away.

"Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Narcissa."

Harry then soon left the dining room and headed up to his room. When he walked in he saw Omega lying on top of his bed.

"Hey, get up." Harry playfully scolded as he came over and sat on the bed. "Dogs sleep on the floor."

Omega barked and lunged at Harry as Harry laughed and petted the big dogs head. He then gently pushed him off and Omega snarled and grabbed the blankets and began pulling on them as Harry tried to get comfortable.

After a few minutes, Omega settled down and Harry closed his eyes, drifting off into sleep.

XXXXXX

_"You've disgraced us. The Malfoy name."_

_Lucius Malfoy stood in front of his son as they stood on the balcony of the fourth floor of the manor. Draco looked over his shoulder at the long way down before looking back at his father who continued to admonish him._

_"How could you do this? After all I've done for you? I gave you everything-"_

_"Things, father." Draco responded carefully. "You gave me lots of things. But you didn't give me what I really needed."_

_"And what did you really need?"_

_Draco didn't respond and a smirk came over the face of Lucius._

_"Is is love, Draco? You don't think that I loved you?"_

_"All you did was try to tell me how to think. To hate people for no good reason. I did horrible things to people because of the things you told me, that purebloods are superior to everyone else."_

_"That's because we are!"_

_"No, father. We're all just people. No better or worse."_

_Rage was now the expression that Lucius now held as he gripped his wand tighter in his hand. _

_"I can't believe what I'm hearing!"_

_"Father-" Draco began._

_"Stop! I don't want to remember you this weak!"_

_Draco then closed his eyes as Lucius pointed his wand at him._

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_The last image he saw was Draco being hit by the killing curse and falling lifelessly to the ground below..._

Harry suddenly bolted upright from his bed, his eyes wide open, his hair sticking up in all directions as though he'd been violently turning in his sleep. For a moment that seemed to last forever, he couldn't breath.

"Draco," he gasped.


	19. Nightmare

Dragging in a harsh breath, finally Harry shakily rose from his bed. Omega, who was lying on the floor was looking up at him with concerned eyes as he opened the door and exited his room. Shivers went through his body, though he scarcely noticed the chill night air or the freezing tiles on the floor beneath his bare feet. His dream haunted him, and the closer he got as he walked down the hall to Draco's door, the worse it got as he thought about it more and more.

_Draco…falling from the last floor of the manor to his death…_

_A funeral…the casket closed…_

_Killed by his own father. He could see his mother by his casket…sobbing uncontrollably…_

Shaking, Harry slowly opened the bedroom door and walked inside. Across the room Draco was laying on his king sized bed, asleep. Harry walked over to the bed as quietly as he could and once he reached the bed he stared down at him. Slowly, he reached out a hand and touched a single strand of Draco's hair…

Suddenly, a strong grip snaked out to grab his wrist.

"What exactly do you plan on doing Harry?" Came Draco's voice, almost sounding a little amused. His eyes slowly opened and he stared up at him.

Harry at first wanted to yank his wrist free, but when Draco opened his eyes and they were now just staring at each other, he just let him keep holding it.

"Uh…" Harry tried to say something, what could he say? How could you tell someone that you had just had a dream about them dying? How could you _not_ tell them?

"What are you doing in here anyway?" Draco asked again.

Then it came to him. It was just a nightmare…not a vision. It was just like the nightmare he had about the members of the Order being killed by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. It wasn't like the one he had about the Dursleys being killed. Draco was here…right in front of him. He was safe.

"Bad dream," Harry was finally able to say. "I just wanted to see if you were okay…sorry I woke you."

Draco was giving him a strange look and let go of Harry's wrist. Turning over to lay on his back, he sighed and closed his eyes again.

"What was your dream about?"

"It's nothing…"

"Nothing? Why'd you come in here then?"

"Just forget about it Draco," Harry whispered. "See you tomorrow."

Harry then quickly fled from the room, but not without looking back at the Slytherin boy one last time. He was almost asleep again as Harry reached the door, his features peaceful. A horrid feeling came over Harry when he thought about the way he would look if he were to fall off the top of the manor.

He shut the door behind and stepped back out into the hallway and to the staircase, heading down to the first floor. Harry decided to go downstairs and just sit, try to clear his mind. Maybe it could help make him tired enough to go back to sleep.

There wasn't a light on in the living room, so he went in and settled on the couch with a blanket around his shoulders, and switched on the small light next to him. He picked up the pillow and held it tight against his chest, trying to take his mind off the nightmare.

"You're up late, Harry."

He wasn't normally skittish, but he'd thought himself alone in the living room and he jumped with a rather un-manly-like squeak, his heart pounding. He could barely make out Narcissa's figure in the chair across at the other end of the room, all he saw was the arrangement of limbs in the chair, straight as a steel beam.

"I didn't know you were in here," Harry responded, sounding a little breathless from the fright.

"Obviously. It is very rude to enter a room without seeing if someone is in it and might not wish for your company." Narcissa sounded vaguely amused but also slightly irritated.

"There wasn't a light on," he said, huddling deeper into the blanket, wishing he could just disappear. If he had a galleon for every time he'd had that particular wish, he could build a manor of his own.

"No," Narcissa said, but there was a curiously soft note in her voice. "No there wasn't. Sorry Harry." She then stood up and walked over to the couch, staring down at Harry. "What on earth are you doing awake? It's way past midnight."

Harry looked up at her. Should he tell his godmother that he had a nightmare about her son dying? That he saw him being killed by her very own husband, or ex-husband now.

"I had a nightmare," he simply said, not revealing any details. "I don't think I can go back to sleep."

Narcissa looked down at the pillow Harry was clutching to his chest and noticed his hands were shaking.

"My goodness you're shaking." Harry glanced at his hands before Narcissa gently took his wrist. "Come with me, I'll give you something to help you fall back asleep."

Harry got up and followed Narcissa as she led him out of the room and to the kitchen. He tried to open his mouth and speak again, but he couldn't. All at once it was like his brain snapped to attention, and a violent rush of air expanded inside his lungs.

_"I always lose people." _He thought to himself.

Because of who he was, because of what he had to do. Voldemort was after him since the second he was born and would go after anyone that was close to him. He didn't want to lose anyone else.

They reached the kitchen and Narcissa instructed Harry to sit on one of the bar stools while she poured some kind of liquid from a blue glass bottle into a cup and handed it to him. Harry sniffed the drink he had been given and it had a powerful smell.

"Drink, Harry," she quietly urged.

Harry made a face, but complied. After a few moments Narcissa sat down on the stool across from him and looked on as he continued to drink from the cup. He took a quick glance at his godmother and suddenly was thankful she was there.

It was very different for him to have someone here to comfort him after a nightmare.

"I know I haven't said anything Harry," she began. "But I'm quite pleased to see you and Draco at such ease with one another. I think it's been good for him, and probably you as well."

Harry merely nodded and set the cup down on the counter when he finished, his eyelids suddenly felt heavy. The liquid seemed to rush straight to his brain and douse the flames of the nightmare.

"Better?" Narcissa asked as Harry struggled to keep his eyes open.

"Much." He managed to answer with a weak smile.

"Ready to go back to sleep now?"

Harry nodded again and Narcissa smiled and led him up the stairs and back to his room. He followed, already feeling much, much better.

"Good night," she said as she finished walking him back to his room.

"Good night, Narcissa." Harry said, and closed the door behind him. Once he reached the bed he collapsed down on top of it. Omega then jumped up off the floor on to it before laying his head down on Harry's chest. Harry placed his hand on the dog's head and began petting him for a few seconds as he looked up at the ceiling.

Finally, his eyes closed and he drifted off into blackness.


	20. Friends Find Out

The last week of summer went by rather quickly, and Harry passed the time by reading in the library, playing chess with Draco, and riding his broom during the night. The two of them also swam in the indoor pool the manor had on the third floor. It was strange to Harry how much faster time went by when he had something to do and someone to spend it with. Doing all this also almost erased the nightmare he had away from his thoughts completely.

Right now, Harry and Draco were currently sitting in the backseat of the Rolls Royce as the chauffeur drove them to the location of Hogwarts Express. They were both quiet for the beginning of the ride, but after a few minutes Draco began to speak and of all things he brought up;

"So what did you do when you left my room that night? Did you go back to sleep?"

Harry mentally cursed himself but couldn't pretend he didn't know what Draco was talking about. He was surprised it took him this long to ask about it.

"No, I went to the first floor and your mother was there. She gave me this tea from a long blue glass and it made me tired." Harry finally answered.

Draco smirked.

"From a long blue glass you say?"

"Yeah, why?"

"That wasn't tea Harry, that was booze."

Harry looked up in surprise.

"Booze?"

"Yeah," Draco said and then started to laugh.

"Your mother gave me liquor?"

"I guess she did."

Harry couldn't help it, but he began laughing right along with Draco.

"It put you right out, didn't it?" Draco asked.

"Yes it did."

After their laughter died down, Harry decided to bring something up.

"Listen, when we're at school-"

"Don't worry," Draco cut him off. "I'll leave you alone."

"That's just it, if you don't start sneering at me again, the whole school is going to think you've lost your marbles."

"So what are you saying? You want me to start messing with you again?"

"Just don't go over the line," Harry responded and shook his head, not believing he was giving Draco permission to start mocking him again.

"No, I'll do what I want." Draco responded. "If anyone from Slytherin asks why I'm leaving you alone I'll just tell them to shove off. They won't do anything, they know who I am."

Harry smiled a little, surprised and thankful for Draco saying that. But it then it occurred to him that Draco said he would leave him alone, but what about Ron and Hermione? What about the other kids at the school? He didn't want Draco starting things up with them either.

Before he could ask they got closer to the platform. Draco had the driver park a little further away from it so people wouldn't see him and Harry in the same car together. Harry got his things out of the trunk of the car and began walking forward. When he got in front of the train, he began looking around, trying to find Ron and Hermione among the sea of people.

A minute or two went by, and Draco had the driver get his trunk and owl for him and carry it to the train for him. Just before he got on, he heard Harry's voice near by and looked over to see him hugging Weasley, and then he hugged Granger.

After the trio got reunited, they got on board Hogwarts Express and found an empty train compartment.

"We missed you Harry," Hermione said as the three of them sat down.

"I missed you guys too."

"How come Dumbledore wouldn't let you come to the Burrow for the summer Harry? Hermione was aloud to stay." Ron asked.

Harry sighed a little. That question didn't take long to come up.

"I'm too hazardous. You don't want Voldemort dropping by the Burrow do you?"

"You didn't have to stay with your relatives did you?"

"No...he found another place for me to stay."

"So Dumbledore put you in a foster family, is that it?" Hermione tried to guess.

"Uh, no. It wasn't with a foster family."

"Where were you placed, mate?" Ron asked, wanting to know.

Harry looked down at his feet, deciding just to go ahead and tell them. He didn't want to draw this out any longer than was necessary.

"I kind of got placed at the Malfoy Manor," Harry blurted really fast.

Ron then started laughing.

"It sounded like you just said that you got placed at the Malfoy Manor."

"He did just say that," Hermione said slowly, studying Harry closely and could tell that he was being serious. Ron then stopped laughing and looked at Hermione.

"Oh come on, Dumbledore wouldn't have placed Harry at the Malfoy Manor. He's not that stupid."

"Yes, he is!" Harry shouted back, only to smile a little when he realized how that had came out. "I mean, it's not stupid at all, Ron."

"Are you serious? You really stayed with the _Malfoy's_ over the summer?"

"It's hard to explain," Harry admitted, frowning.

"Well…try," Hermione urged, wanting to know why he was put there, of all places.

Harry nodded and began telling them about how his mother made Narcissa Malfoy his godmother and how she was now his legal guardian. He also mentioned how the Dursley's were killed soon after he left. He finally finished up his story by telling them because Narcissa was his godmother, that made him and Draco, god brothers.

"Good grief, you had to be around Malfoy all summer long? That must have been a nightmare," Ron said.

"He's not that bad, once you get to know him," Harry shrugged.

Hermione looked at him in surprise.

"So are you saying you and Malfoy actually got along?"

"I'm still alive aren't I?" He joked, trying to make some light of the situation. "But yeah, we kind of buried the hatchet…and I trust him now."

"How can you possibly trust him after all he's done over the years!" Ron shouted.

Harry gave his best friend a look.

"Did he murder my parents? Did he enter my name in the cup in fourth year? Did he kill Sirius? No, all he's done over the years is just call us names and try to get us in trouble. All it's been between us is just a stupid schoolyard feud and I'm tired of it. It's better that we're not fighting anymore."

"He's a Slytherin!

"Slytherin doesn't mean evil!"

"A Slytherin killed your _parents_, Harry, or have you forgotten all about them_?_"

"He had help from a _Gryffindor_, namely your damn rat, or have you forgotten about him_?_" Harry retorted.

"Harry are you listening to yourself? Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater and he's Malfoy's father! They're depraved, all of them!"

"Narcissa Malfoy is not a Death Eater, you moron!" Harry leaned forward to shout the words directly into Ron's face. "And neither is Draco!"

"And how do you know that?"

"They're my family now!" Harry bellowed, his anger surging back, worse than before. "Don't you get it? I'm lucky to have them!"

"_Lucky_ would be if Malfoy got himself killed."

Anger exploded in Harry's mind after Ron said that as details from his nightmoare from that night entered his mind. Unable to stop him, Harry lashed out at his friend and they began fighting with each other as Hermione jumped up and tried to break them up.

"Harry!" She screamed. "Ron, stop it!"

The two of them separated from each other and both were breathing heavily. Hermione was wide eyed and it was extremely awkward here in this small space.

"I think you really have lost it." Ron snarled as he wiped a small bit of blood from his lip.

"No, I haven't lost it. I'm perfectly fine."

"Tell you what, Harry. I'll keep this under wraps so that when you come to your senses, which you _will_, you won't be too humiliated in Gryffindor!"

"I think I'll ask Dumbledore to make the announcement," Harry coldly retorted.

"That's it, I'm done," Ron snarled and grabbed his trunk, opened the door and stomped off without Hermione. "I'm going to sit with Ginny and Neville," they heard him say.

Harry looked back at Hermione.

"Aren't you going with him?"

Hermione shook her head and closed the door.

"No, I'm staying here. I may not like Malfoy, but if you consider him family now…then that's fine."

"Thanks, Hermione," Harry smiled softly as he sat back down. He was almost sure that if Ron wouldn't understand, she certainly would.

"So…what's he like?" Hermione asked.

"He's…normal." Harry shrugged.

"You two are really getting along now?"

"Yeah."

"And you're sure about his mother?"

He nodded.

"Narcissa filed for a divorce from Lucius. Didn't you see the Daily Prophet?"

"No, I tried to avoid the news as much as I could."

"She's really different from her husband. She really is."

Harry didn't say anymore as he turned his head to look out the window. Hermione could see that he didn't want to talk about it anymore and remained quiet for the rest of the ride to Hogwarts.


	21. Jump Than Fall

XXXXXX

When they arrived at Hogwarts, Harry sat through the sorting ceremony and the feast before heading upstairs to the Gryffindor house to sleep. He actually slept good that night to his surprise but when he woke up and walked to the Great Hall for breakfast he saw people standing around with wild looks on their faces as they talked loudly to each other. He immediately got a bad feeling as he sensed something bad had just happened.

"What's going on?" Harry asked when he walked up to Seamus.

"Ron got into a fight with Malfoy." The other boy answered.

Harry groaned as Seamus continued.

"Ron walked up to him and said something about 'not trusting' him and to 'stay away'. Malfoy of course said something about him being poor. Ron then shoved him and Malfoy punched him in the nose before the teachers broke it up."

"Where's Ron now?"

"In the infirmary."

Turning around, Harry headed to the hospital wing, a place he knew all too well to see his friend. When he arrived he saw Ron sitting on top of a bed nursing his nose. His eyes widened when he saw Harry and he quickly jumped off the bed to his feet.

"Are you okay?" Harry began.

"I'm fine." Ron snapped. "Malfoy hits like a girl."

Harry had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. From the sight of Ron, it looked like Draco nailed him with a good shot but Ron's ego would never let him admit it.

"I'm gonna get him back for that. I can't believe that professor's are letting him off with a warning-"

"From what I've heard, it was you that started it."

"Are you actually taking his side!?"

"Ron, come with me."

Harry quickly grabbed Ron by his arm and dragged him out of the infirmary all the way out of the castle so they could talk in private.

"Ron, you're going to have to get over this."

"Yeah? Why should I?"

"Because Draco's mom is my godmother. That makes the both of them my family now. You're going to have to accept that or…"

Harry trailed off as he shook his head a little, not believing he was actually going to say this to the first friend he had ever had in his life.

"Or what?" Ron challenged.

"Or you and I are going to have to go our separate ways."

Ron's eyes then widened in surprise after he said that. Harry gave him one last look before he went to walk around him to re-enter the school but Ron's voice quickly stopped him.

"Harry, wait!"

Running in front of him to stop him, Ron took a deep breath.

"Are you serious?"

Harry sighed. He was.

"Ron, I don't need this. This is the last thing I want to deal with on top of everything else. I know you don't like him but you don't have to deal with him. We're not eleven anymore."

Ron frowned as his friend finished. He didn't mean to put Harry in this position. He had been through a lot over the years and still had more waiting for him with Voldemort looking to kill him. He then spoke up.

"I'm sorry about what I said about Malfoy dying the other day and starting a fight with him. I didn't mean it. But you know what that git has said about me and my family over the years."

Harry nodded. Of all the people Draco had tormented over the years, Ron probably got it worse than anyone else. He knew Ron hated being poor, and Draco knew just how to push his buttons.

"I guess I was just mad when I heard that you and him had hung out all summer in his fancy mansion…" Ron said bitterly and then trailed off after that. Harry guessed that Ron thought they weren't going to be as close anymore, now that Harry had somebody else in his life.

"But if Malfoy is your new best mate," Ron continued, "That's fine. I can take it."

Harry just stared at him and shook his head.

"Ron, you are an _idiot_." He finally snapped. Ron blinked, obviously surprised.

"What?"

"Just because Draco and I are god brothers now doesn't change our friendship Ron." He said seriously. "Nothing can change what we've been through together. We'll always be best friends, no matter what."

Harry meant that and wanted to make sure Ron understood that. Some days it was the friendships he had that were the only thing that kept him from going crazy, especially in fifth year.

"Thanks."

"Remember, I chose you as a friend. I never wanted Draco to be in my life, it just happened. And I have to make the best of it."

Ron nodded.

"His mother must really be nice."

"She is. My mom chose her to be my godmother…it's a long story about how that happened and how she ended up with Lucius."

"She must be a little off to want to be with him."

"It was a pre-arranged marriage."

"Oh yeah?"

Just then, they heard two voices talking to each other coming close to them. They both turned around and saw Draco walking with Crabbe and Goyle. Harry put a hand on Ron's shoulder as the three Slytherins got closer as if to say 'don't say anything.'

The three of them continued walking and talking, Draco turned his head to give the two of them a dirty look as they walked on by and were soon out of sight. Harry's brows then furrowed as the three of them were now gone…he could have sworn that look Draco had given was genuine, and given to him alone, not to Ron. As he continued to think about it, Ron then asked;

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Harry responded. "Come on, let's go back inside."

The two boys walked back into the castle, heading to the great hall to try and enjoy the rest of breakfast the best they could after what happened but before they could enter they were greeted by Snape who was glaring down at them.

"Mr. Weasley." Snape began. "I see that you are okay."

"Yes." Ron responded through gritted teeth. "I'm fine."

"As you know there is the matter of your punishment for starting a fight."

"What about Malfoy? Is he going to get punished for hitting me?"

"Of course." Snape then smirked a little. "Ten points from Gryffindor, and…one point from Slytherin."

Harry then grabbed Ron's wrist as he saw him turn red as Snape turned away and walked down to the hall to his classroom. Once he was sure that he was gone, Ron exploded;

"ONE POINT!" He yelled. "One bloody point!"

He couldn't help but smile a little as he shook his head, Harry patted Ron's shoulder as he tried to calm him down.

"Come on, let it go. It's Snape, what do you expect?"

Taking a deep breath, Ron continued to mutter under his breath about Snape as Harry led him back in so they could eat. Once they reached the Gryffindor table Hermione spoke up, a little concerned.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Ron muttered. "I'll be fine."

As Harry pulled a plate of waffles towards him, he looked across the room and saw that Draco was back in the great hall as well. As he looked at his god-brother he saw that Draco was still giving him the same look from outside, like he was mad about something.

Continuing to stare at him before a couple of other Slytherin's sat down in front of him, blocking his view of Draco, Harry looked down at his food, wondering what the problem was as he they all began to talk as they tried to take advantage of what time they had left before classes started.


	22. Kriss Kross

XXXXXX

After they got out of the great hall once breakfast was over, Harry was sitting in potions class working on a project that Snape had assigned them for the day. He had paired them all up and he was sitting next to Ron cutting up a root when suddenly he felt something a little sharp begin to poke his neck.

He swatted at it but felt nothing. A little confused, Harry went back to work only to feel that annoying poking start again. Letting out a grunt of aggravation he spun around and looked around the class, only to see Draco sitting next to Goyle, trying to hold in laughter. Harry then realized that Draco had bewitched a quill that was poking him in the back of the neck.

Harry shook his head as he mouthed 'stop it' before going back to work. He picked up the knife to finish cutting the root when;

Poke.

Poke.

Poke.

"Would you stop it!" He finally yelled.

"Potter." Snape snapped as he walked over to his and Ron's desk. "Could you care to explain why you've decided to disrupt my class?"

Harry took a deep breath and wondered if he should tell on his godbrother, or if the potions master would even believe him if he did tell him.

"Well…" He began.

Snape ignored him as he then looked down at the potion the two of them were brewing.

"And why is your potion green when it clearly states on the board that it should be blue?"

Ron and Harry looked at each other.

"I…I don't know."

"Ten points from Gryffindor for you two's stupidity." He spat predictably. "Can the two of you at least try to make an effort in this class, hard as that may be for you?"

Once Snape spun around to head back to his desk, Ron gritted his teeth furiously and clenched his fists beneath his desk as Harry grabbed his arm in effort to calm him. Snape was baiting the two of them, but he was determined not to let his temper take control of him. But, knowing that Snape enjoyed tormenting him, Harry would like nothing better than to strike him with a powerful curse.

"What were you yelling about?" Ron then whispered to him.

"Nothing." Harry sighed. "Sorry."

As Ron went back to work Harry looked over at Draco who merely shrugged at him in return with a smile on his face. The moment the bell rang Harry got up and hurried out of the dungeon. Draco was about to get up and leave as well, but Snape called him back.

"Yes, professor?" Draco asked as he walked to his desk.

"I wanted to let you know, Draco that the dementors joined the Dark Lord last night." Snape began.

Draco gazed at Snape, knowing that the dementors were the ones that guarded Azkaban…the place his father was currently at.

"So…what does that mean? What's going to happen to the prisoners?"

"They're still in prison." He assured. "Azkaban is currently being guarded by aurors, but…it's not easy for them."

Snape continued to look at his student trying to read his expression, knowing that he was thinking about his father. He wasn't sure if telling him at this moment was the right thing, but he thought that Draco had a right to know.

"Thank you, professor." He finally said.

After leaving the potions classroom, Draco made his way out of the castle for Care of Magical Creatures class when he stopped in surprise to see Harry leaning against the wall, apparently waiting for him.

"It's not my fault Snape yelled at you-" he began.

"I don't care, Snape always yells at me."

"So what do you want?"

Harry shrugged.

"Well, we do have the same class together. I figured I'd wait for you."

Draco raised an eyebrow as they began walking together out of the castle to their next class. He thought the other boy would be mad at the joke he played in potions but Harry didn't seem to care.

"Aren't you a little worried about someone seeing us being civil to each other?" He then asked.

"I thought you said you didn't care." Harry responded.

"I _don't_."

Harry looked at him for a moment.

"Even if they do they won't know that we're god brothers. Or that I'm staying at the Malfoy Manor."

"Have you told anybody yet?"

"Only Ron and Hermione? You?"

"I was told by my mother not to tell anyone."

"Do you always do what your mother says?" Harry grinned.

Draco just ignored him and changed the subject.

"So, how's the weasel?"

Harry sighed.

"_Ron _is fine. It's just that when he gets mad, he talks first and thinks later. He also has a lot of problems-"

"Oh please, what problems has the Weasel got except for a stunning lack of intelligence?"

"He's got _five_ older brothers and one younger sister," Harry retorted. "He's lost in a crowd at home. And with _me_ for a best friend, he's sort of overshadowed all the time at school, too."

"Na, I think he's just an idiot. Remember when he spent an entire year trying to casting spells with a broken wand?"

"Geez, he was only a second year," the other boy grumbled, deciding he'd just as soon not mention that Ron's family couldn't have afforded another wand that year. Ron sure wouldn't want Draco to hear that.

"Second year or not, he still lacks some portion of his brain."

"Stop insulting Ron," Harry demanded. "I wish we could all just get along, but I suppose that's probably asking a bit much, considering the past years. From now on, why don't you just ignore Ron from now on instead of insulting him?"

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything."

They both couldn't help but smile a little after that.

"It's good to have you on my side," Harry said by way of reassurance. "Really, it is."

Draco nodded as he and Harry kept walking. It was nice to finally let go of this grudge they had towards each other. It took too much energy to hold a grudge. They finally saw Hagrid's hut coming up in the distance.

"I can't believe they are letting this fat oaf teach again." Draco muttered.

"Hagird's not an oaf."

"Yes he is. He nearly got me killed on his first day of teaching."

"He told you not to insult Buckbeak. Personally, I think you ought to apologize to him for that incident."

"I don't think so. He's not exactly my favorite person."

"Well, he's one of mine, so you're going to have to get over your…whatever. Remember, if you want us to keep getting along you can't go around antagonizing-"

"Your friends?" Draco snapped. "Oh, so you won't trust me as long as I have my own opinions, is that it? Nice! Very Gryffindor of you."

"I didn't say that!" Harry objected.

However, Draco didn't respond and walked away from him as students came into view. They were all waiting for Hagrid as Draco walked over to his girlfriend, Pansy Parkinson who was amongst the crowd.

"Good morning," Pansy greeted as Draco smiled and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Drakie, why were you talking to Potter?"

Draco narrowed his eyes.

"It's none of your business, and _don't_ call me Drakie."

Pansy blinked in surprise at her boyfriend snapping at her like that as she then remained silent and stood next to Draco as Hagrid appeared to begin his lesson for class.


	23. Perfect Insanity

XXXXXX

Later that evening, Harry along with Ron and Hermione entered the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table. Ron pulled a plate of ham towards him and started shoveling some onto his plate, Hermione too put some ham on her plate and started eating but Harry found that he wasn't all that hungry right now.

He glanced over at the teacher's table and found that Dumbledore was looking at him with a contemplative expression. Dumbledore looked as if he were trying to make up his mind about something, but when he noticed that Harry was staring at him, he gave him and slight smile and turned to talk to Snape who was sitting right next to him.

Harry turned back to his table just in time to see Ron try to stuff half of the contents on his plate into his mouth at once, and Hermione and Ginny both giving him looks of disgust. Laughing a little to himself, he shook his head than turned around, looking at the Slytherin table, trying to see if Draco was there.

It took a minute for Harry to find him, as he was usually the centre of attention at that table, surrounded by a group of people, but when he finally spotted his god brother he was surprised to see him sitting by himself at the very end of the table.

Harry's brows furrowed and he tried to think of a way to catch Draco's attention, but the other boy seemed to completely lost in thought. After realizing it was useless, he began looking around at the rest of the tables until he was staring at Cho Chang.

Cho eye's locked on his and Harry's heart jumped up into his throat before he quickly spun back around, looking down at his plate. Ginny then gave him a bewildered look.

"Something wrong Harry?" She asked.

Harry shook his head.

"I'm fine."

"It's Cho isn't it," Ginny said in a quiet, almost disappointed tone. She probably thought that Harry still liked her.

"No, it's not, I could care less about Cho," he replied, the answer coming out in a much more bitter tone than he had planned. After everything that had happened last year, he had enough of Cho to last a lifetime.

"Really?"

"It's nothing," Harry said and gave her a weak smile. "I'm just tired, that's all."

Ginny gave him a suspicious look but said no more. Harry was glad that she decided to let the subject lie. He felt slightly foolish for letting himself become so alarmed, yet he couldn't shake the feeling he had that something wasn't quite right.

Suddenly, his stomach growled at the lack of food and Harry remembered that he still hadn't eaten anything yet. He pulled a plate of chicken towards him and transferred some onto his plate and finally started to eat.

The rest of the meal went by smoothly, and after several helpings of mashed potatoes and beef stew with pumpkin juice, Harry and everyone else was very full. Going to bed did sound very inviting about now.

Then, something made him turn back to the Slytherin table again, only to see Theodore Nott sitting across from Draco, and they looked to be in some kind of argument. Harry couldn't hear what they were saying, so he only watched as it went on for another three minutes or so before Draco finally stood up and walked away from the table and out of the Great Hall, with Pansy soon following.

Harry wanted to get up and go after him too, to find out what had just happened, but decided it would be best not to.

Outside, Pansy ran after Draco as he began climbing the staircase.

"Draco please wait!" She called.

"What!" Draco snapped and spun around to glare at her.

"Are you alright?"

"No."

"What's wrong?" Pansy asked worriedly, lightly shaking his arm. "Tell me."

"What's wrong?" Draco asked. "Are you serious? Why the hell did you tell Theodore that you saw Potter and me talking to each other?"

"It just slipped out," she sighed. "Seeing you two like that, especially after all the times you told me you hated him. I was only worried about you."

Pansy looked crestfallen, but if she was trying to make Draco feel bad, it didn't work.

"Well don't be," he replied shortly, a normal expression forming on his face, as though pretending nothing was wrong as he turned away from her and continued heading up the stairs.

XXXXXX

Over the next three days, Draco and Theodore had stepped up the hostilities towards each other to the point where no teacher wanted to deal with the two of them in a class together.

In potions the two Slytherin's got into another heated argument, despite the threat of detention from Snape. Harry could only watch and wonder why they were fighting all of a sudden, as he had no chance at all to talk to Draco since he saw their first argument during dinner.

"You shouldn't even be in here Nott," Draco snapped, his voice filled with anger and mockery. "Your skills in potions are almost as bad as Longbottoms!"

"I've got as much right to be in his class as you have Malfoy!" Theodore responded. "You probably only get good grades in this class because of your father's money don't you?"

"Shut up Nott," Draco warned while getting to his feet, he looked intimating due to his height.

"Alright, that's enough," Snape said, trying to calm the situation down.

"How is your father anyway?" Theodore asked, ignoring the professor. "Have you written to him at all since he's been in Azkaban?"

In that moment, all of Draco's usual cunning instincts and smart remarks were forgotten in his anger. He pulled his wand and flicked it, causing Theodore's cauldron to tip and spill its contents on his front, causing the other boy to yell in pain.

A slow smirk spread across his pale face as several other students from his house went to Theodore's aid as burns appeared on his skin and his robes were ruined. Snape quickly moved towards him and vanished the potion that covered him, before he turned his attention to Draco.

"Crabbe, Goyle, help Mr. Nott to the hospital wing," he directed. "Draco, meet me outside the headmaster's office in five minutes. The rest of you are dismissed."

Harry got up but didn't follow the other students out of the room. He wanted to stay behind and talk to Draco, find out what was going on but Snape saw that he hadn't left yet and yelled;

"I said out, Potter!"

Draco and Harry briefly made eye contact before Harry reluctantly turned around and exited the classroom, leaving Snape and Draco to themselves. Now that they were alone, the potions master looked at his student.

"Mr. Malfoy, may I ask what you were thinking?"

"It just came to me." Draco responded, unconcerned.

"That wasn't your brightest idea, you do realize."

"Oh, I don't know, I thought it was pretty funny."

"I don't think Mr. Nott would agree."

"Why is that?"

Snape sighed.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, but you could have seriously injured him."

"That was the idea."

"Draco!" Snape snapped, now losing his patience. "You're not helping yourself. I understand that you were provoked but what you did was unacceptable."

Draco didn't respond as he stared at the floor as Snape walked over to him and but a gentle but firm grasp on his shoulder.

"Come with me."

Not having much of a choice, Draco spun around and went with Snape out of the classroom and they walked down the hallway together. Along the way, Draco saw Harry leaning against the wall. The two looked at each other for a moment before Snape led him inside the Headmaster's office.


	24. Violent Dreams

XXXXXX

_Draco slowly walked into the room to see his mother sitting in a chair with his aunt Bellatrix standing over her with a wand pointed down at her. His father was standing in the middle of the room, he looked so much different from the last time he saw him. But then again, time in Azkaban could do that to someone._

_"Hello, Draco." Lucius smiled. "Come in."_

_"What are you doing father?"_

_"I'm catching up on the things I've missed since I've been away."_

_"Why don't you just let her go, you can talk to me."_

_Lucius smirked as he moved his wand in his hand._

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

_The last image he saw was Draco being hit by the killing curse and falling lifelessly to the ground below..._

_A funeral…the casket closed…_

_He should have stopped Draco from going to the manor._

The next morning Harry woke up with a scream, his mouth hanging open and his throat parched. His stomach twisted violently as he stumbled up out of bed, got up and leaned against the wall, taking a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

Loud pounding that sounded like footsteps rushed up the stairs and suddenly Ron came through the door, breathing hard with his eyes widened in shock from what he heard.

"Merlin, mate," he said in a low voice as he walked over to Harry. "What happened? I heard you scream."

"Nothing…" Harry breathed, feeling a little embarrassed. He glanced at Ron who settled him with something close to a glare and he sighed before finally answering. "I had a nightmare."

Ron shook his head.

"Come on, let's get you to Madam Pomfrey," he said, gently taking Harry's arm and tried to lead him to the door but the other teen didn't move.

"No. I'm fine," he said, trying to pull back. The red-head settled him with another flat look, "Really Ron. I just...I just need to wake myself up."

"Alright, I'll see you in class then."

After Ron left, Harry slowly got ready for classes, his mind still on the nightmare he just had…the same nightmare he had on his last night at the Malfoy Manor…the one about Draco dying. He just had again, with even more detail this time. Maybe it was just because he was worried about him. He wanted to know what was going on between him and Theodore Nott but never had the chance to talk to him.

As Harry got ready for class, he decided he'd just go right up to Draco and ask him about it, not caring who saw them talking. When he sat down in potion's class, he kept looking back at the door, waiting for Draco to come through the door but he never did. At first Harry thought that his god brother was just late again, but Draco never did walk in.

When Snape dismissed his students, it was time to go to Care of Magical Creatures class. Harry couldn't stop his mind from straying to Draco as he walked with the rest of the class across the grass towards the forest and Hagrid's house. He began to worry more when again Draco didn't show up. Harry couldn't concentrate at all during Hagrid's lesson, his thoughts was only on the blonde haired Slytherin.

When that class ended, Harry met up with Ron and they walked in to Transfiguration and sat down at the same table. Harry swore under his breath when class started, and again, no Draco.

"What is it Harry?" Ron asked, noticing the look of distress on his friend's face.

"Have you noticed that Draco hasn't been in any of the classes today?"

"So?"

"I wanted to talk to him, find out why him and Theodore have been fighting."

"You should be happy the two of them are going at it, now maybe they'll leave us alone."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Ron, Draco hasn't messed with you since school started again."

Ron grumbled something in return but Harry just ignored him and tried his best to pay attention, but couldn't. He just counted down the minutes until class ended, and decided not to go to Defense Against the Dark Arts, but to look for Draco instead. He figured he best place to begin his search was the Slytherin house since he knew the password was 'Hydra' after hearing it mentioned by one of the first year Slytherin's yesterday.

The Slytherin quarters, as it turned out were much larger than the ones belonging to Gryffindor, and in addition, the staircase leading to the sixth-year dormitory had several smaller staircases leading off it, all of which ended in going to either store cupboards, dead-ends, or bathrooms.

'Poor Neville would probably get himself hopelessly lost here,' Harry thought to himself as he completed his long journey up to the bedrooms.

He kept looking around until he finally saw Draco in the corner of his bed mashed up against the wall, the darkest part of the room. Harry sighed in relief that he had found Draco and that he was okay. He went over and shook him.

"Draco, wake up."

When he didn't respond, Harry grabbed a pillow off the bed and whacked him on the back of the head. Draco didn't even move, he just laid there in a deep sleep, Harry did it again but the same result happened.

"Wake up, damn it," he hissed.

Harry continued to stare at the sleeping boy before looking down at the floor and saw a book lying there with a quill pen sticking out and an idea suddenly came to his head.

Picking the quill up, he began tracing it under Draco's nose which made him twitch in his sleep as he began to move more and more in his bed as Harry continued.

Then to Harry's surprise, Draco's eyes flew open and he sat up to quickly that Harry fell to the floor. Draco sneezed as he rapidly wiped his nose, trying to get rid of the ticklish feeling as he began to hear laughter coming from the ground. Draco's rapid breathing started to calm down as he slowly looked over the side of the bed to see Harry on the floor, holding a quill as he rolled over with laughter.

"Potter," Draco hissed when he saw him. "What the _hell_ are you doing in my dorm?"

"You should have saw yourself," Harry said while laughing again as he stood up.

"Yeah I bet it was freaking hilarious," Draco muttered.

Draco then swung his feet off the bed, deliberately knocking them into Harry's shins. Too bad he wasn't wearing shoes, he might have left bruises.

"What the hell are you thinking coming up here?" Draco asked while shoving his feet into a pair of bedroom slippers. "The Slytherin's will eat you alive if they catch you up here."

"I don't think I have anything to worry about, after you made that cauldron spill on Theodore…you shocked everyone in the whole room, Draco." Harry responded.

"They probably think I'm crazy."

"Does it really matter what they think?"

"It does when they know where I sleep."

Draco got up and walked over to sit down in a chair as Harry sat down on the bed and looked around the room, it was dimly lit by a small lamp and it was hard to see with the sparse lighting.

"Is it always this dark in here?" Harry asked.

"Yes, it's always dark in here." Draco snapped in return. "Now answer my question, what are you doing up here?"

"I think the better question is, why weren't you in any of your classes today?"

"What do you care?"

Memories of that dream came back to him again as he looked at his god brother. Harry thought about telling Draco about his nightmare the other night, but again decided not to. He didn't want to worry Draco or himself about it. It was just a stupid nightmare...it would go away eventually.

"I was just worried about what's been going on with you over the past few days."

"Worried? About me?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Harry sighed as he continued to look at his god brother who looked away and stared at the floor. He definitely looked like he had a problem, but for whatever reason didn't want to tell Harry about it.

"Draco." He began again.

The other boy raised his eyes and looked at him but didn't reply.

"What is it?" Harry gently asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Draco said, standing up. "I'm going back to bed."

"Brooding all day in your room isn't going to help whatever's troubling you," Harry pointed out. "Weren't you the one who told me to stop sulking?"

"I can't tell you my problem, it's as simple as that."

"Why not?" Harry demanded.

Draco took a deep breath.

"Harry, _you_ are the problem."

Harry's brows furrowed after he said that.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Pansy saw you and me walking to class together a few days ago," Draco sighed. "Naturally it was strange for her to see us being civil to each other and she opened her stupid mouth to Nott about it."

"So?"

"So, Nott asked me about it. He thought it was just some plot I thought up for me to do something horrible to you and he wanted in. He's ready to serve Voldemort, he thinks I am too. After I didn't tell him anything, we began fighting and now all the Slytherin's are wondering what's going on with me."

Draco sighed and lightly hit the wall while Harry just stared at the floor.

"Look, I know we're god brothers and everything, but maybe it would be best if we just stayed away from each other from now on. With what's happening with the Slytherin's…and I can imagine your friends would prefer we have nothing to do with each other…besides I wouldn't want you to have to choose."

"Draco," Harry began. "Maybe you don't know this, but a person _can _have more than one friend."

Draco looked at him and narrowed his eyes.

"Have you been drinking an unauthorized potion or something? Of course I know that!"

"I don't think so," Harry murmured, as politely as he could. "I mean, have you ever _had_ a friend, let alone several at once? I remember during the summer you said yourself that Crabbe and Goyle were just hanger-ons. And from the looks of things, you and Theodore have never been on good terms."

He heard his god brother say on a sigh;

"What's your point?"

Unsure really how to get to it, Harry tapped his foot on the floor and stared at his hands as he talked.

"You…well, you seem a little threatened by the fact that I have other friends. I think you believe that if I start getting along with them better, it'll leave you out or something."

"Oh, _please,_" Draco sneered. "What do you think I am, a five year old? Afraid I'll lose you to your other friends…I've never heard anything so ridiculous."

"Is it ridiculous?" Harry questioned.

"_Yes_, I'm not like you, I don't need _friends_. I have all the friends I need in a vault at Gringotts Bank."

Harry frowned, wondering if his god brother really meant that. As sad as it was, he probably did mean it.

"Draco," he began. "We see things differently, we know that. But that doesn't have to be a bad thing, it just means we have a lot to learn from each other."

Harry and Draco just watched each other for a few seconds, neither saying anything before Draco remembered something.

"Oh, yeah. My mother sent us a letter the other day." Draco then grabbed a letter off the stand next to his bed and handed it to Harry. He took it and began reading.

_Dear Draco and Harry;_

_I just wanted to check up on the two of you, hope the new school year is going well and you two are still getting along. Draco, remember to stay out of trouble and Harry, if you continue to have nightmares, tell your brother about it. He'll know how to help. I look forward to seeing you both when winter break comes. _

Harry smiled a little after he read the letter. It was nice to be wanted, for a change. He then read over the line 'tell your brother about it'. It was still a little weird for him to think of Draco as that, and it was probably weird for Draco still.

"It was nice of her to check on us."

"Hm-hm." Draco muttered.

Harry then placed the letter on the stand as Draco looked at him.

"So, are you still having nightmares?" He then. "Do you think you'll have one tonight?"

"No." Harry cleared his throat. "But I do tend to have them now and then."

"You don't wet the bed sheets, do you?"

Harry looked at Draco and gave him a playful glare.

"No. Do you?"

"If I ever do, I'll put the sheets on you, how's that? How would like to wake up with pissy sheets on you?"

They began laughing after that, good humor chasing all their worries away as the most profound sensation of relief swept straight through them like a cleaning breeze.


	25. Xscape

XXXXXX

The crashing of rocks and stones awoke Lucius Malfoy in the middle of the night inside of his small jail cell. It sounded like an avalanche as screams and the sounds of spells being fired could be heard from the hallway. Then through his blurry vision he realized that the bars of his cell were nearly all the way off. Apparently they had been hit was some kind of spell. He pushed it with all his strength causing the door to slam to the floor and he stumbled his way out into the hall.

He looked around and saw the bodies of aurors littered the floor as he stepped over them and followed the other prisoners out of the destroyed prison. Looking up at the sky, he saw about two dozen Dementors flying over him as other Death Eaters were yelling at them to hurry up.

Lucius kept going until he saw Bellatrix Lestrange, his sister-in-law in the distance.

"Lucius." Bellatrix yelled when she saw him.

She then looked at him more closely and immediately noticed he was no longer the somewhat handsome, older aristocrat he once was. His eyes were sunken in and had dark rings around them. His hair was dirty and messy and he had grown a little bit of facial hair that made him look much older than he was.

Bellatrix was surprised to see what had become of him only after a few months. She had spent years in Azkaban and it didn't affect her as badly as it apparently had done Lucius. But if he felt bad now, he was going to feel a lot worse when he found out about what had been going on while he was locked away.

"Bellatrix." He gasped weakly. "Get me out of here."

"I will." She responded while taking him by the arm. "You need to come with me, there is something you need to know."

While the other Death Eaters focused on getting the prisoners out and fighting what was left of the aurors Bellatrix completley centered her attention on her brother-in-law.

Bellatrix ended up apparating them to the Lestrange Manor, where she lived with her husband many years ago. While Lucius sat at the kitchen table, slowly eating a bowl of soup, Bellatrix approached him holding a paper in her hand.

"I'm sorry to have to inform you of this so soon, but it's important."

She sat the paper down on the table for Lucius to look at. Shock immediately came over him when he saw the headline.

'Narcissa Malfoy files for divorce from Death Eater husband.'

"What the hell is going on?" Lucius asked as he looked up at her.

"Apparently my dear little sister is trying to cut all ties from her past." Bellatrix responded in a harden voice. "Not only this, but I've heard that she has visited our blood-traitor of a sister, Andromeda as well."

Lucius continued to stare at her, taking the information in. He knew that Andromeda had been disowned for marrying a muggle-born wizard and that Narcissa hadn't spoken to her in years. What possible reason would she have for visiting her now?

He then began reading the paper and soon found out that Narcissa had been given the Malfoy Manor as well as full access to the bank vaults the two shared, as well as full custody for their son, Draco. She was literally trying to take everything from him.

"How could she do this to me?" He asked himself in a quiet voice.

"Why don't we go to the manor and ask her ourselves?" Bellatrix suggested as she took out her wand. "You know how to get past the defenses don't you? You can get us in."

Lucius thought to himself about the shield spells and other defenses he had applied on the manor over the years. But Narcissa was a smart woman and was sure to have altered them all by now, especially that she had filed for a divorce from him. But that was his house, and she didn't know all of its secrets. He knew a way they could get in.

"Of course." Lucius responded.

"Good."

"But not tonight. I need to rest for at least one night now that I'm out of that place."

Bellatrix nodded.

"Of course."

Lucius then got to make his way to the bedrooms upstairs.

"Thank you, Bellatrix." He really couldn't express the words to how greatful he was to her and the others for finally breaking him out of that hellhole.

"You don't have to thank me, my dear brother."

Bellatrix then watched as Lucius smiled at her a little before turning away and heading for the staircase. However, back at Hogwarts it was time for dinner and Harry and Draco left the dorm and descended the staircase together, and they made their way to the Great Hall.

They decided to sit at the same table tonight so they could continue talking, but not at the Gryffindor or Slytherin table, Draco also objected to sitting with the Hufflepuff's, so the only option left was the Ravenclaw table. Either that or sit on the floor and Harry couldn't ever imagine Draco doing that.

When they stepped into the Great Hall, people stared at them curiously when they saw them walking over to a table. A few of them started whispering to each other, but after a few minutes, everyone just went back to eating and talking like usual. Harry then nodded to Ron and Hermione, who didn't seem surprised at all, since they knew that he and Draco were god brothers.

Harry pulled food towards him and could sense the stares but ignored them as he went along eating. Draco did the same and they began talking quiet to one another before a voice yelled out;

"Hey Draco!"

Draco looked up to see that it was Goyle would yelled his name and that a small group of Slytherin's snickering. It felt weird to be on the receiving end of his classmates.

"What do you want, Goyle?"

"Why are you sitting over there? With Potter of all people?"

"None of your business, you fat moron."

Harry and Draco started laughing then Draco noticed Theodore sitting next to Goyle, giving him a dirty look.

"I think now that Weasley's moved out, Malfoy's moved in," said Nott. Crabbe and Goyle began laughing but Draco wasn't going to be mocked.

"Yeah," he stated loudly. "That's it. Harry and I are a couple now. And I'll add that we're quite happy, thanks."

Harry was laughing now and the group of Slytherin's sitting behind them were all looking at each other stupidly as if trying to decide if Draco was kidding or not. As it died down, Harry looked at Draco, oddly feeling proud of him as they went back to their dinner. He then looked around at the rest of the tables and saw that everyone else had done the same thing, they were no longer paying any attention to the two of them.

"I guess no one really cares." Harry then spoke.

Draco looked around and saw that no one was paying them any mind as well.

"I guess. You'd think that it would cause more, you know? Two arch-enemies sitting at the same table, eating and talking."

"I'm sure we'll get more questions about it later."

"Just don't let it slip out that my mother is your god-mother now."

"I won't." Harry assured.

"Good." Draco responded as he picked up his goblet and took a drink from it. "I don't want to risk putting her in any danger, no offense."

Harry nodded understandingly. He knew the risk he was with Voldemort after him and the risk Narcissa had taken by trying to distance herself away from Lucius. The last thing the wizarding world needed to know was that she was his god-mother. That would put her in even more jeopardy and the last thing he wanted to deal with was the chance of losing someone else in his life that was important to him.


	26. House Politics

XXXXXX

While it might have seemed like no one really cared or paid any attention to him and Draco during dinner, when Harry got back to the Gryffindor common room, it certainly told a different story. Everyone had gathered around and were talking about what they had seen but once Harry had walked in they turned their heads to look at him and quickly got silence. Harry watched them all until Seamus got up and addressed him.

"What was that about, Harry?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you and Malfoy…friends now?" Neville then asked.

"Yeah, I guess we are." He shrugged, not going into anymore detail.

"Since when?"

"Not long."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Said another voice in the back round.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Harry asked.

"Are you kidding?" Seamus responded.

"What about what he's done over the years?"

"He's a Slytherin!" Yelled out another voice.

"He's Malfoy!"

Harry rolled his eyes as the others continued yelling out things, not really knowing how to respond.

"Come on guys, leave Harry alone." Ron then spoke up as he got up and walked over to Harry's side. "If Harry is friends with Malfoy now, what does that have to do with you? Why do you care?"

"It's just that…" Seamus began but trailed off. He knew of the bad blood between them, as did everyone else. Before he continue, it was like Harry could read his mind and spoke up again.

"We hated each other in the past, but that's over now. We buried the hatchet and we aren't going to fight with each other anymore."

"But when-"

"I'm tried, guys. I'll see you in the morning."

Harry then turned around and headed up the staircase heading to his bed. He then realized that Ron had followed him and was a little grateful for it.

"Thanks, Ron." Harry smiled a little.

"Don't mention it."

Harry then sat down on his bed and took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes a little as Ron sat down on the bed across from his.

"I guess they had to find out eventually."

"Yeah, just don't tell anyone what you know."

"Don't worry."

Harry nodded, he trusted Ron. A lot of things could be said about him, he had a short temper and didn't always think before he reacted but he was very loyal and was a true friend.

"Alright, I'm going to sleep."

"Likewise. I'm exhausted."

However, while Harry and Ron were getting ready for bed, Draco had made his way into the Slytherin common room and it was the exact opposite of what Harry got. The room was deadly quiet and once they all saw him they turned their heads to look at him with narrowed eyes.

Draco lifted up his chin and returned their stares, trying not to look intimidated at what was in front of him but deep down he was as he wasn't sure if he was about to be jumped or not. Just to be sure, he took his wand out of his pocket as if to say 'back off' as he began to walk through the room towards the staircase.

"What's going on, Malfoy?" Theodore Nott then asked.

"What are you talking about, you fool?"

"Sitting there with Potter like you've been best friends for years." Nott spoke again. "What's going on, Malfoy?"

"Piss off, Nott."

Draco then tried to continue on but Goyle's voice stopped him.

"Malfoy, just so you know-"

"You're not one of us anymore." Crabbe finished.

After that, Draco clutched at his heart in a dramatic fashion before rolling his eyes and continuing his way to his bed. Once he got there he shook his head in frustration before throwing himself down on the mattress.

It certainly felt weird to be on the other side of taunts of his own house. He use to be the one they looked too, they were his followers. They would do anything they said, now they were telling him he was virtually on his own now. Draco turned on his side as he exhaled deeply. At least things couldn't get any worse.

_'BOOM!'_

Back at the Malfoy Manor, a large explosion went off causing the giant house to shake as Narcissa looked around her bedroom in a panic as she quickly ran over to her nightstand and grabbed her wand. Carefully heading out of her bedroom, she went down the hall and to the elevator, pressing the button to take it down to the first floor. Once it reached the floor, the doors opened up and her eyes widened at what she saw all the way down the hallway, where the front door was...or use to be.

It had been completley blasted off its hinges in a burst of wood, vinyl, and splinters. Her house elves, Topsy and Lorna were both laying on the floor, dead. Then, a sight she hoped that she never saw again walked into her sight.

"Oh god."

Her ex-husband, Lucius walked out from the shadows and their eyes met. Despite the distance between them, Narcissa could see the anger they held.

"Hello, Narcissa. My dear, loving wife."

Narcissa quickly jumped forward, pressing the button of the elevator, taking it back up just as Lucius pointed his wand at her and sent out a spell but the curse hit the closed doors as it began going on. Just then, Bellatrix then walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax, Lucius." She began. "She deserves a chance at an explanation first."

Lucius looked at her for a second before nodding before turning around and heading to the staircase, Bellatrix right beside him as they headed up. On the third floor, Narcissa ran out of the elevator and to her room which she quickly locked behind her, even though it would do no good.

As she took a deep breath she looked towards her owl, Xavier and knew of something she needed to do.

Grabbing a piece of paper, Narcissa began to write quickly as she heard footsteps coming down the hall.

_Draco,_

_Your father is here. I don't know what he plans to do but please do not attempt to come here. Let whatever happens happen. I want you and Harry to stay safe. _

_Love, _

_Mother._

Giving the parchment to the owl, Narcissa opened the window to let Xavier fly out just as Bellatrix used her wand to take the door off, much like the front had been.

"Sissa." Bellatrix smiled as she stepped over the broken pieces of door into the room. "How have you been?"

"Hello, Bellatrix."

Narcissa smiled a little back just as Lucius walked in.

"Sit down, Narcissa. You and I are going to have a long talk."


	27. Inside the Fire

XXXXXX

The following morning, Harry and Ron both headed down to the great hall for breakfast. As he ate and talked with Ron he would take occasional glances at the rest of his classmates from the Gryffindor house. Nothing out of the ordinary, hopefully they all got everything out of their system last night. He then looked over at the Slytherin table and saw that Theodore Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle were sitting together and all sending him their usual dirty looks. He then didn't see Draco around and instantly started to get worried. Would they try to do something to him?

"Harry!"

His head then shot around when he heard the familiar voice shout his name. Everyone else looked down to see Draco running towards him, his robe half on, shoes untied and hair sticking up everywhere. It would have been comical if he didn't have that look on his face. Draco looked absolutely terrified which caused Harry to get to his feet.

"What is it-"

He could barely get his question out as Draco grabbed his arm and yanked him forward, almost causing him to fall. Harry nearly tripped over his feet several times as his god-brother continued to pull him out of the great hall, everyone inside including the professors watching them in confusion the whole time until they were out of sight.

Once they were finally outside, Harry was finally able to pull away from Draco and looked up at him in confusion.

"Draco, what's going on?" He demanded.

"Here, look at this."

He thrusted the letter for the other boy to take, Harry looked down at it for a second before taking it and slowly beginning to read.

_Draco,_

_Your father is here. I don't know what he plans to do but please do not attempt to come here. Let whatever happens happen. I want you and Harry to stay safe. _

_Love, _

_Mother._

Harry then looked up, his face probably now looked almost as worried as Draco's.

"What happened?"

"Dementors broke out the prisoners in Azkaban. Father has to know what she's done since he's been away. We have to go there."

After Draco's said that, Harry's eyes went to the side as he remembered.

_Draco…falling from the last floor of the manor to his death…_

_A funeral…the casket closed…_

_Killed by his own father. He could see his mother by his casket…sobbing uncontrollably…_

"Wait…Draco. We can't."

Draco's eyes nearly bugged out of his head after Harry said that.

"_What_? Are you kidding me?"

"Let's just talk about this for a minute. We need to come up with a plan."

"I don't need a damn plan! My mother is in trouble, your godmother!"

He then seethed as he gave Harry a look.

"The hell with you, I'm going."

Draco then spun around angrily but then Harry yelled out;

"If you go to the manor you're going to die!"

Slowly turning back around, Draco looked back at Harry with a strange look on his face.

"What?"

"I had a dream during the summer." Harry explained as he walked closer to him. "It was about you and your father. You went back to the manor for some reason and your father killed you."

Draco smirked a little, clearly not believing it.

"My father killed me in your dream?"

"Yes. With the killing curse."

"My father could barely hug me, let alone hit me with the killing curse."

Harry then really started to think about that. Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater, he was a horrible man as far as Harry was concerned. But could he really be capable of killing his own son? He didn't know, all he knew was that he didn't want Draco to go.

"Look Draco, I know how it sounds but it felt so real. I don't want you to go-"

"Yeah, you had a dream about me dying but didn't say anything until now."

Harry could have cursed himself. He should have something that night, or anytime after. He just didn't know how to.

"I should have said something earlier, but-"

"Listen, don't act you care." Draco then snapped.

Harry's brows furrowed.

"What are you talking about?"

"I heard you talking to the weasel a few days ago. You said you never wanted me in your life, and you just have to make the best of it."

Right then, Harry then remembered. Talking with Ron outside the castle, making him understand what was going on with everything. He then remembered Draco coming around while they talked, and the dirty looks he gave him the rest of the day. That was the reason why. He had heard what he had said.

"What were you, spying on me that day?" Harry finally then asked.

"I guess I picked it up from you, Potter."

Draco then turned away and started to walk but Harry quickly ran in front of him.

"For gods sake, Draco did you really want me in your life either?!"

"No I didn't. But I got accepted it, I got use to you and believe it or not…I liked having a god-brother."

"So do I!" Harry then yelled. "I realize Narcissa is in trouble. I don't want to lose my godmother, but I don't want to lose you either!"

"How noble of you, _Potter_." Draco then smirked. "Whatever, do what you want. I'm going."

"No you're not!"

Harry then lunged forward and grabbed Draco's arm. Yelling out in surprise, Draco began to twist his arm away. Anticipating that, Harry let go of Draco's arm just as the other boy began to yank it away. Caught off balance, Draco lurched on his feet, just as Harry threw himself into him, propelling the other boy backwards. Harry shoved with all his might against the other boy, pinning him chest to chest against the wall of the castle.

Harry planted his feet firmly on the ground and leaned against the other boy, trying to hold him still. But Draco was stronger then he was and was able to shove him away.

"My father is a lot of things, but he wouldn't kill me." Draco sneered, acting as if Harry hadn't just tried to attack him. "He's just going to be mad at my mother, I've got to go so I can calm him down."

"I swear, Draco, I dreamed that you are going to die! Don't go there-" Harry began and went after him again when Draco began to walk way when the Slytherin turned back around with his wand in hand, pointing it straight at Harry's heart.

"_Petrificus totalis."_

Harry's hands snapped to his sides, his legs jamming themselves into a straight position that caused him to topple over sideways.

Draco caught him before his head could smash against ground, and gently lowered him to the grass, laying him on his back. Harry tried to struggle, but he couldn't move. Not one muscle, though he could still hear and see perfectly well. He couldn't even talk any more.

"I'll unhex you the second I get back," Draco promised as he left Harry's sight. Harry tried again to move his lips, just enough to crack them open, but it was no use. Draco had mastered _Petrificus_ years before. The casting had been flawless; there was no weakness to exploit.

_'No, Draco,'_ Harry tried to say, but no words emerged as Draco began to leave his sight. _No, don't go! Don't go, don't go-'_

He was still mentally chanting the words when he heard foot steps walking away from him in the grass.

And then, nothing but silence.


	28. Torn

XXXXXX

Harry's heart pounded faster and faster and the silence around him was something that he couldn't stand. His field of vision was limited to the blue sky above him with not a cloud in sight as the hex Draco put on him was so absolute that he couldn't even shift his eyes to either side. A spam of terror shot through his body as he tensed against the rough outside ground.

'Draco is going to die.'

That was Harry's first thought after he heard the sound of Draco's footsteps walking away from him after the hex. He had never felt so helpless in his life as he was unable to move an inch, all he could do was hope that someone would come outside and take the hex off him. Harry didn't know quite how long he'd been laying there but as every second went by, the closer and closer Draco got to reaching the Malfoy Manor.

And the closer it got to Harry's nightmare coming true.

Every instinct was screaming at him as the feeling of needing to help went through his body. The need to save his god brother from the possible fate that awaited him at the very home he grew up in. Harry then began thinking about what he and Draco had done together over the summer. Memories of the good times they had shared began to go through his mind.

_Flying their brooms in the night sky, playing chess, reading old horror novels, playing with the dog, searching for books to read in the library. Finally starting to get along, finally getting to know each other better...being more comfortable around each other. _

But those were memories...not feelings. So what did he feel for him?

They were god brothers, yes, but that said nothing about emotion. Harry had never given much thought of what he did feel...he just knew he cared for Draco, and right now he could only feel yet another person he cared about slipping away from him.

Suddenly, Harry began hearing the sound of footsteps was coming from the back door he and Draco went through when he dragged him out here. He then listened more closely and heard two familiar voices talking; it was Ron and Seamus.

"Have you finished your potion's essay?" Ron asked.

"Yes." Seamus responded.

"Can I see it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it took me two hours to write it. Write your own essay!"

"Come on, can't you help your best friend out?"

"We aren't best friends."

Harry wished he could crank his neck over to see them and say something. They kept walking past the wall of the castle and turned the corner when Ron nearly stepped on his head, then looked down at him in surprise.

"Harry! What are you doing lying on the ground like that?"

_'Unhex me you idiot!'_

When he didn't respond Ron then quickly realized that someone must have cursed Harry with the _Petrificus_ charm and took out his wand, taking it off him. Ron and Seamus then took his arms and helped Harry up to his feet.

"Draco!" Harry gasped, struggling against his friend's grip. His muscles were still so uncoordinated that he couldn't quite shake the other two off. "I have to go find him-"

"Harry what happened? Who cursed you? It was Malfoy wasn't it?" Seamus then asked. "I told you not to trust him!"

Harry ignored him and was finally able to push the two of them away from him and ran back into the castle, stumbling over his own feet a few times as he began to run, then after a few seconds he realized that in his haste, he was going in the wrong direction.

Turning around, he headed to the Gryffindor tower as fast as his legs could take him before reaching his trunk and pulling out his firebolt broom.

"Please don't let it be too late." Harry pleaded to himself as he through open the windows. Sitting down on the broom, it took off like a rocket into the air as he began flying in the direction of the manor.

XXXXXX

However, in the master bedroom of the manor Narcissa was sitting in a chair as Lucius paced back and forth with Bellatrix watching the two of them the whole time. They all looked tired from being up all night, as they had to wait for morning for the bank to open up so Narcissa could transfer the funds back to her husband.

"I gave you your money, Lucius. What more do you want?" Narcissa then asked.

"I want to know why. I deserve an explanation."

"We've been at this all night. Just do what you're here to do."

After she said that a seething look of anger appeared on his face as Lucius raised his hand to strike her but Bellatrix quickly came forward and put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"I'm not even sure what I'm here to do!" Lucius then yelled. "I can't even think straight because of all this! How could you do this to me?"

"I did what I needed to." Narcissa responded simply. "It may not be too late for you, Lucius. Maybe Dumbledore can help you the same way he did for Severus. Change your ways."

"Change my ways?"

Looking back at Bellatrix, they both smiled at each other.

"There is nothing about our ways that we need to change, Sissa." Bellatrix responded. "We our purebloods, we don't associate ourselves with others who are inferior. You know that. What would mom and dad think if they knew you welcomed back that blood-traitor of a sister of ours back into the family?"

"What is wrong with you?" Narcissa asked as she shook her head.

"No, what is wrong with you?"

Narcissa then looked up at her older sister.

"I woke up."

"Well." Lucius then spoke again as he gripped his wand. "Not for long."

Narcissa then looked at the wand in his and Bellatrix's hands and wondered if they really would kill her. She then took a deep breath as she began to get choked up a little thinking about her son and about Harry. But if she was going to die, at least should would die with a clear conscious.

"Hello, father." Then said a familiar voice.

The three of them then looked over at the entrance of the room.

Draco slowly walked into the room to see his mother sitting in a chair with his aunt Bellatrix standing over her with a wand pointed down at her. His father was standing in the middle of the room, he looked so much different from the last time he saw him. But then again, time in Azkaban could do that to someone.

"Hello, Draco." Lucius smiled. "Come in."

"Draco, no." Narcissa worded silently as her eyes widened in horror upon seeing him. She didn't want to involve him in this.

"What are you doing father?"

"I'm catching up on the things I've missed since I've been away."

"Why don't you just let her go, you can talk to me."

Lucius then looked at his son.

"Yes. I suppose I do have some things to say to you as well. Maybe you can explain some of the things that have been going on around here."

Draco then looked at his mother for a moment, quickly realizing they weren't going to let her go before looking back into the eyes of his father.

"Where should I start?"

"At the beginning. Why did your mother tell you see was filling for a divorce from me? That she was taking back her last name, visiting her disowned sister? Why did she disgrace herself and her name?"

"She didn't disgrace herself!" Draco then yelled, catching his father and Bellatrix off guard.

Lucius the smiled evilly.

"Ah...you too huh?"

"Father, please try to calm down."

"I will not calm down! I find out all the things my wife has been doing since I've been in prison, and apparently she's even turned my own son against me!"

But just shook his head.

"She didn't turn me against you...you did that to yourself."


	29. Sons of Plunder

XXXXXX

"You've disgraced us. The Malfoy name."

Lucius stood in front of his son as they stood on the balcony of the fourth floor of the manor. Draco looked over his shoulder at the long way down before looking back at his father who continued to admonish him.

"How could you do this? After all I've done for you? I gave you everything-"

"Things, father." Draco responded carefully. "You gave me lots of things. But you didn't give me what I really needed."

"And what did you really need?"

Draco didn't respond and a smirk once again came over the face of Lucius.

"Is it love, Draco? You don't think that I loved you?"

"All you did was try to tell me how to think!" Draco then shouted. "To hate people for no good reason. I did horrible things to people because of the things you told me, that purebloods are superior to everyone else."

"That's because we are!"

"No, father. We're all just people. No better or worse."

Rage was now the expression that Lucius now held as he gripped his wand tighter in his hand.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing!"

"Father-" Draco began.

"Stop! I don't want to remember you this weak!"

Narcissa in the meantime was watching the whole exchange with her breath caught in her throat, wishing that she had never sent the letter to her son at all, she should have known he would have come here anyway.

Draco then watched as his father pointed his wand at him. He then remembered Harry telling him about that dream of his that his father killed him. He couldn't believe that, but there was something in his father's eyes that he had never seen before. Maybe his time in Azkaban had hardened him to the point he could do something like this.

Not wanting to see this coming, Draco closed his eyes. But just as he did he could hear the sound of something soaring through the air. Something was coming towards him, fast but he refused to open his eyes.

Lucius was about the shout the killing curse at his son when suddenly he saw a figure in the sky flying towards the balcony. Harry was on his firebolt and came flying down, grabbing Draco's arm and pulling him up off the balcony. The weight of his god-brother made him yell out as the pain in his shoulder made him feel that his shoulder might have separated.

Draco shouted out in surprise as he felt his feet leave the ground and looked up to see that it was Harry on his broom.

"Harry! What are you doing?!"

"I'm saving you, you prat!" Harry shouted back.

However, he was going so fast and was so intent on saving Draco that he really wasn't paying attention now and he was flying much lower now and crashed right through the window in the first floor of the manor. The sound of the crash distracted Bellatrix on the upper floor, and when Narcissa saw her opening she jumped up and punch Bellatrix in the face, making her fall backwards and hitting her head on the dresser. Lucius then spun around and fired a curse as Narcissa ran from the room which missed her by an inch.

Back downstairs, Harry and Draco both groaned as they struggled to get off the floor as they were surrounded by pieces of the house and broken glass.

"Harry, how did you get out of that curse?"

"Never mind." Harry growled back as he pulled out a piece of glass from his arm which was now bleeding. Draco too had a cut above his eyebrow.

"My father tried to kill me." Draco then gasped. "My own father tried to kill me!"

"I _did_ warn you, Draco!"

"Oh sure, when I was about to leave and I was just about guaranteed to not believe you!"

"Forget it! Let's just find your mother and get out of here!"

As the two teens staggered to their feet, the elevator had come down to the first floor and when the doors opened Narcissa quickly ran out, looking around widely for her son.

"Draco!"

"Down here!" He yelled.

Narcissa ran down the hall and quickly ran to her son when she saw him, then looked surprised to see that Harry was here as well.

"I told you boys not to come here!"

"I had to save you!" Draco then yelled. "You should be thanking me!"

"Come on." Harry then spoke. "We need to get out of here."

_"Stupify!"_

A spell was fired from the staircase which hit Draco's back, causing him to fly forward and crash right into his mother, knocking them both to the ground. Harry quickly spun around and saw that Lucius was coming down the steps. He quickly lifted his wand and fired a curse at him which the older man blocked.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Lucius seethed. "This is family business."

"They are my family."

Lucius cocked his head in confusion just as Harry fired a another curse at him. Again it was blocked as Lucius fought his way down the rest of the steps until he was on the floor. They continued firing spells at each other until one got through and hit Harry in his damaged arm causing him to stumble over his feet and fall to the floor. His wand rolled from his fingers and he backed himself up until he was against the wall as Lucius prepared to finish him off.

Turning his head as he recovered Draco saw what was going on and his eyes widened when he saw his god-brother in trouble. Lucius pointed his wand at Harry and yelled;

_"Avada-"_

Draco lifted his wand and fired a spell into the air. It hit the chain that was attached to the chandelier in the ceiling which snapped and it began falling to the ground, right where his father was standing.

Lucius looked up and screamed just as the chandelier came down on him, killing him instantly. The loud boom and then more glass shattering made Harry, Draco, and Narcissa all cover up to protect themselves. When everything settled Draco looked back at the graphic scene, his father's body underneath the giant chandelier as he could see blood beginning to seep out onto the floor.

Harry looked over at his god-mother as Narcissa got up and tried to turn Draco away.

"Don't look." She said but Draco wouldn't look away. The stunning realization coming to him.

His father was dead.

About an hour later, aurors had filled the Malfoy Manor which had now become the scene of a death. Lucius' body had been taken away as the aurors tried to fight away the press that had shown up as well as interview Narcissa, trying to find out what had happened here. In the meantime, healers had attended to both Harry and Draco. Once his arm was taken care of, Harry walked into the dining room where he saw Draco go to in order to get away from everyone. He knew his god-brother wanted to be alone but Harry felt like he needed someone right now.

"What the hell do you want?" Draco asked when he saw him.

Harry bit his lip.

"I just wanted to see if...you were okay."

"I'm fine."

They both stood in an uncomfortable silence for a moment before Draco spoke up again in a subdued voice;

"Thanks for saving me."

"You saved my life too. That makes us even."

"Killing my father in the process."

"You didn't do it on purpose. You're not a murderer, I know that."

"You're probably the only one who thinks that."

"What do you mean?"

Draco let out a bitter laugh.

"It's that what everyone thinks? Isn't that what I am? Just a foul, evil, Death Eater in training?"

"No, you're not that." Harry responded as he shook his head.

"Then what am I?"

"You're my god-brother. And you're stuck with me, whether you like it or not."

Draco couldn't help a small smile appear on his face after he heard that. Harry then surprised the both of them as he walked over and hugged the other boy.

After a few seconds…Draco reluctantly returned it.


	30. Better Angels

XXXXXX

Several months had went by since the battle at the manor and Lucius Malfoy's death and things had gone back to normal, or as normal as things were before that night. It was now winter break and Harry and Draco were back at the Malfoy Manor for the holidays. While he never said anything about it, Harry knew that Draco felt guilty about the whole thing. It was still something terrible to have done, whether he meant to do it or not. The only thing that made him feel better was the new family he had, he never had to worry about his father again.

Currently, Harry was standing in his room, getting ready to go downstairs when suddenly his door opened and Draco walked in, looking none to pleased.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked when he saw his expression.

"Why are Mr. and Mrs. Weasley here with the Weasel, Weaselette, and Granger?"

He looked at his god brother in surprise.

"What? They're here?"

"Like you didn't invite them?"

"I didn't. Your mother must have invited them."

"Why would my mother invite _them_, of all people?"

"Because she knows they're my friends."

"I don't want your friends here."

"Come on, I thought you said you'd make an effort with them."

Draco had been getting along with Ron and Hermione better since he saved Harry's life, but for some reason he just didn't want them in his house. Draco muttered something under his breath while Harry just shook his head and continued to get ready.

After a minute, Draco spoke up again.

"Hey, guess what? I finally decided to change my name."

Harry looked at him.

"You did?"

"Yes. My legal name is now Draco Xavier Malfoy-Black."

"You almost have as many names as the headmaster now." Harry responded with a grin.

Draco rolled his eyes.

"What about you?" He then asked.

"What about me?"

"Have you thought about changing your name too?"

Harry thought about that for a moment.

"No...I don't think it's necessary."

"That's fine." Draco nodded. He himself then started thinking about something that had been on his mind for quiet a while now as he looked at Harry.

"You know I've been thinking...we've spent the last five years fighting with each other, and we were god-brothers the whole time."

"Yeah, I know."

"I wonder how things would have been if my mother became your god-mother right away, after your parents..."

"Things would have been a lot different." Harry admitted. "But I think in it's own screwed up way, maybe this was how it was meant to be."

Just then, the door opened and Max, the new house elf stuck his head in.

"Uh…the guests are waiting Mr. Malfoy."

Draco nodded as Max left the room and he turned to look back at his god-brother.

"Ready to go downstairs?" He asked while heading over to the door.

"Wait…I have something for you."

He turned back around with one of his eyebrows raised in curiosity as Harry leaned down and pulled a package out from underneath his bed.

"But I didn't get you anything."

"It's okay."

Truth be told, Harry still felt a little guilty about the death of Lucius. If only he had told Draco about his nightmare sooner maybe the whole thing could have been avoided, and he felt like he owed Draco something. His god-brother took the gift from his hands and ripped open the paper to see that it was a sterling silver dragon on a Malachite Pendant. Draco's eyes widened in surprise.

"Whoa."

"Do you like it?"

Draco nodded.

"Where did you get the money for this? These things are expensive."

"Well, you do you that since we're god brothers we share the same family bank vault."

"What? You mean I actually have to _share_ my money with you!"

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Oh god, I hope you don't starve."

"Whatever, let's just go downstairs."

Harry and Draco finally left the room and took the elevator down to the first floor. When they stepped out they were immediately passed by their potion's teacher. Harry's expression quickly changed as he had not expected to see him.

"Mr. Potter," Snape greeted before walking back towards the living room. Harry turned his head to look at Draco, who smirked at him in return.

"If I have to put up with your friends, you have to put up with mine."

They continued to watch as Snape walked closer to the living room where he was greeted by Narcissa, who smiled brightly when she saw him.

"You know, I can't help notice that Snape and your mother have been really friendly lately."

Draco slowly turned his head to stare at Harry, with a disturbed look on his face.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Harry said innocently, a smirk now coming to his face.

When they walked into the living room, they saw Hermione, Ron, and Ginny sitting by the fireplace and Arthur and Molly Weasley standing by Narcissa and Snape who was also there with Andromeda and her husband as well as Nymphadora. Draco couldn't help but smile a little as he watched his mother, she looked so happy right now, happier than he had ever seen her before. Harry then walked over to join his friends while Draco went to be with the adults.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Weasel…y," Draco greeted, remembering to be polite…for Harry's sake.

"Hello dear," Molly smiled. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

They all sat in the living room for a few minutes talking before the house elves came into the room and told them all that dinner was ready.

Harry, Draco, Narcissa, Snape, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Andromeda, Ted, Nymphadora, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley all made their way to the dining room and took their seats. Harry smiled as he looked around the table but said nothing.

He knew that Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters were still out there, but for the first time…he had a good feeling about things. He felt that everything was going to be okay.

This change he had gone though since the summer, as strange as it was, was only the beginning of good things to come.

He could feel it.

The End.


End file.
